Isolation of type 5 capsular polysaccharide from Staphylococcus aureus

Clinical surveys have indicated the predominance of type 5 and type 8 capsular polysaccharides among clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus. The type 5 capsular polysaccharide was extracted from three clinical isolates of S. aureus grown on solid media, and purified by ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. Chemical analysis showed that the type 5 capsular polysaccharide is composed of N-acetylfucosamine and N-acetylhexosaminuronic acid. Immunodiffusion and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance experiments showed that the type 5 capsular polysaccharide is both immunologically and chemically distinct from the type 8 capsular polysaccharide and the teichoic acid of S. aureus.