Structural studies of the O-specific chain of Hafnia alvei strain PCM 1190 lipopolysaccharide

The structure of the O-specific side-chain of the lipopolysaccharide of Hafnia alvei strain PCM 1190 has been investigated. Methylation analysis, partial acid hydrolysis, Smith degradation, NMR spectroscopy, MALDI-TOF, and FAB mass spectrometry in combination with collision-induced-decomposition MS/MS were the principal methods used. It was concluded that the polysaccharide is composed of heptasaccharide repeating units having the following structure: Only 80% of the repeating units are complete, whereas 20% of them are lacking the α-d-glucopyranosyl group.