Application of cystamine and N,N'-Bis(glycyl)cystamine as linkers in polysaccharide-protein conjugation

Pneumococcal polysaccharide type 6B, 14, or 23F (35-70 kDa) was activated with cyanogen bromide and modified with cystamine. After reduction of the spacer, the thiol-containing (i.e. cysteamine-modified) polysaccharide obtained was added in a 5-10-fold molar excess to bromoacetylated tetanus toxoid to give thioether-linked polysaccharide-protein conjugates in a yield of 10-20%. This approach failed for preparing a type 19F polysaccharide-protein conjugate, possibly due to intramolecular elimination of cysteamine from the reduced 19F polysaccharide. When N,N'-bis(glycyl)cystamine was introduced as a spacer molecule, the elimination of the reduced spacer was suppressed, thus allowing preparation of a 19F polysaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugate (15%).