AUTOOLIGO · Automated synthesis of S. pneumoniae 7F capsular polysaccharide repeating unit as candidate for conjugate vaccines

The goal of this project is to develop an automated synthesis of the Streptococcus pneumoniae 7F capsular polysaccharide repeating unit, which is of high interest for synthetic vaccines against this pathogen. This structural motif has never been synthesized yet, not even by traditional solution techniques. Our approach is highly innovative in the application of automated oligosaccharide synthesis, which will make the synthetic procedure more time- and cost-effective. In the course of the project, a series of orthogonally protected monosaccharide building blocks will be synthesized. The oligosaccharide will be assembled on oligosaccharide synthesizer. Photocleavage in a flow reactor and global deprotection will yield the target molecule. The oligosaccharide will be subjected to bioconjugation with a CRM197 carrier protein to produce conjugate vaccine candidate. This conjugate will be tested for the ability to induce an immune response against S. penumoniae 7F.