Structure of a neutral O-specific polysaccharide of the bacterium Providencia alcalifaciens O5.

A neutral polysaccharide containing D-galactose, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose, and 3-acetamido-3,6-dideoxy-D-glucose (Qui3NAc) in the ratios 2:1:1 was obtained by mild acid degradation of lipopolysaccharide of the bacterium Providencia alcalifaciens O5 followed by gel chromatography and ion-exchange chromatography or treatment with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride. On the basis of full acid hydrolysis, methylation, and 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy, including two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (COSY), total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY), H-detected heteronuclear 1H,13C single-quantum coherence (HSQC), and nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY), the following structure of the linear tetrasaccharide repeating unit of the polysaccharide was established: