The invention provides a synthetic
C. difficile
PS-II cell wall saccharide. The invention also provides a process for purifying
C. difficile
PS-II saccharide from
C. difficile
bacterial cells resulting in reduced contamination. The saccharides may be used in vaccines, particularly as conjugates with carrier proteins.
difficile is the most commonly diagnosed cause of nosocomial diarrhea with increasing incidence and mortality among elderly and hospitalized patients. We report the first synthesis of the surface polysaccharide PS-II repeatingunit and its nonphosphorylated analogue, with a linker for conjugation, via a (4 + 2) convergent approach from a common AB(D)C tetrasaccharide intermediate.