Development of a Specific and Sensitive HPAEC-PAD Method for Quantification of Vi Polysaccharide Applicable to other Polysaccharides Containing Amino Uronic Acids

Anal Chem. 2020 May 5;92(9):6304-6311. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b05107. Epub 2020 Apr 24.

Abstract

Typhoid fever is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Vaccines based on the Vi capsular polysaccharide are licensed or in development against typhoid fever. Vi content is a critical quality attribute for vaccines release, to monitor their stability and to ensure appropriate immune response. Vi polysaccharide is a homopolymer of α-1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminouronic acid, O-acetylated at the C-3 position, resistant to the commonly used acid hydrolysis for sugar chain depolymerization before monomer quantification. We previously developed a quantification method based on strong alkaline hydrolysis followed by High Performance Anion Exchange Chromatography-Pulsed Amperometric Detection analysis, but with low sensitivity and use for quantification of an unknown product coming from polysaccharide depolymerization. Here we describe the development of a method for Vi polysaccharide quantification based on acid hydrolysis with concomitant use of trifluoroacetic and hydrochloric acids. A Design of Experiment approach was used for the identification of the optimal hydrolysis conditions. The method is 100-fold more sensitive than the previous one, and specifically, resulting in the formation of a known product, confirmed to be the Vi monomer both de-O- and de-N-acetylated by mono- and bidimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Accuracy and precision were determined, and chromatographic conditions were improved to result in reduced time of analysis. This method will facilitate characterization of Vi-based vaccines. Furthermore, a similar approach has the potential to be extended to other polysaccharides containing 2-amino uronic acids, as already verified here for Shigella sonnei O-antigen, Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 12F, and Staphylococcus aureus types 5 and 8 capsular polysaccharides.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Chromatography, Ion Exchange / methods*
  • Electrochemical Techniques
  • Hydrochloric Acid / chemistry
  • Hydrolysis
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Polysaccharides, Bacterial / analysis*
  • Polysaccharides, Bacterial / metabolism
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Trifluoroacetic Acid / chemistry
  • Typhoid-Paratyphoid Vaccines / analysis
  • Typhoid-Paratyphoid Vaccines / metabolism
  • Uronic Acids / chemistry*

Substances

  • Polysaccharides, Bacterial
  • Typhoid-Paratyphoid Vaccines
  • Uronic Acids
  • Vi polysaccharide vaccine, typhoid
  • Trifluoroacetic Acid
  • Hydrochloric Acid