Research
Most pathogens including bacteria, fungi, and protozoan parasites carry unique glycans on their surface. Several successful bacterial vaccines based on isolated polysaccharides are marketed. Since many pathogens cannot be cultured and the isolation of pure oligosaccharides is difficult, synthetic oligosaccharide antigens prepared by automated glycan assembly1 provide a viable alternative. 2
The group has developed several semi- and fully synthetic carbohydrate vaccine candidates against severe bacterial infections, including multi-resistant hospital acquired infections such as S. pneumoniae, 3 C. difficile,4 K. pneumoniae,5 A. baumannii6 and the veterinary pathogen S. suis.7