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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Homogeneous Glycoconjugate Produced by Combined Unnatural Amino Acid Incorporation and Click-Chemistry for Vaccine Purposes
Published on: December 19, 2020
A structurally diversified linker enhances the immune response to a small carbohydrate hapten
Tomasz Lipinski1, Thanh Luu, Pavel I Kitov
1Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Carbohydrate Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G2, Canada.
Abstract:
The tether employed to covalently attach β-mannan disaccharide glycoconjugates influences the specificity of rabbit antibodies that protect against Candida albicans. Two glycoconjugates containing (1 → 2)-β-mannan disaccharides linked to chicken serum albumin (CSA) either via a structurally uniform or via a stereodiversified spacer were prepared and evaluated in immunization trials in mice and rabbits. Immunization with conjugate vaccine possessing a structurally diversified linker induced higher IgG titers against Candida albicans cell wall phosphomannan than a conjugate with a structurally uniform linker. These results suggest that affinity maturation and the specific antibody response can be shifted towards recognition of the desired hapten by employing a linker with diversified configuration.
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