Two polymeric water-soluble fractions were isolated by gel filtration after mild acid hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharide from Pseudomonas aeruginosa N.C.T.C. 1999. The fraction of higher molecular weight retained the O-antigenic specificity of the lipopolysaccharide and may be 'side-chain' material. This fraction was rich in N (about 10%) and gave several basic amino compounds on acid hydrolysis; fucosamine (at least 2.8% w/w) was the only specifc component identified. The fraction of lower molecular weight was a phosphorylated polysaccharide apparently corresponding to 'core' material. The major components of this fraction and their approximate molar proportions were: glucose (3-4); rhamnose (1); heptose (2); 3-deoxy-2-octulonic acid (1); galactosamine (1); alanine (1-1.5); phosphorus (6-7). In the intact lipopolysaccharide this fraction was probably linked to lipid A via a second residue of 3-deoxy-2-octulonic acid, and probably also contained additional phosphate residues and ethanolamine. The residues of 3-deoxy-2-octulonic acid were apparently substituted in the C-4 or C-5 position, and the phosphorylated heptose residues in the C-3 position. The rhamnose was mainly 2-substituted, though a little 3-substitution was detected. The glucose residues were either unsubstituted or 6-substituted. Four neutral oligosaccharides were produced by partial acid hydrolysis and were characterized by chemical, enzymic, chromatographic and mass-spectrometric methods of analysis. The structures assigned were: Glcpalpha1-6Glc; Glcpbeta1-2Rha; Rhapalpha1-6Glc; Glcpbeta1-2Rhapalpha1-6Glc. The galactosamine was substituted in the C-3 or C-4 position, the attachment of alanine was indicated, and evidence that the amino sugar linked the glucose-rhamnose region to the 'inner core' was obtained.

Slime production by Staphylococcus epidermidis may be important in the adherence to and colonization of biomedical devices, and slime has been proposed to have various effects on the immune system. Attempts were made to isolate, purify, and chemically characterize slime from S. epidermidis cultivated under fluid on tryptic soy broth-agar medium. "Crude slime" from slime-producing strain RP-12 was characterized by a high galactose content. Similar materials in similar yields were isolated from slime-producing strain Kaplan, a non-slime-producing mutant, Kaplan-6A, and stérile medium controls, suggesting that crude slime was derived mainly from the medium. The occurrence of D-and L-galactose and pyruvate and sulfate residues and methylation analysis of these crude slime preparations, monitored by gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, showed that the agar was the main source of crude slime, suggesting that the preparation was largely an artifact of the growth and isolation procedures. Similar high-galactose-content preparations from both S. epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus, assumed to be bacterial products and with a variety of biological activities, have been described by other investigators. Growth attached to a solid surface appears to be important for slime production. An accumulation of turned-over cell surface molecules and released macromolecules such as DNA may contribute to slime production. Avoidance of agar and development of a chemically defined medium for slime production are recommended for further studies.

Lipid A fractions from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas alcaligenes have similar compositions and structural features. By means of hydrazinolysis of the parent lipopolysaccharides and partial hydrolysis of the deacylation products, it was established that both lipids are derived from the beta-(1-->6)-linked disaccharide of glucosamine. Phosphorylated derivatives of the disaccharide from Ps. aeruginosa were also characterized. The lipids differ mainly in the absence of hexadecanoic acid and 2-hydroxydodecanoic acid from the lipid from Ps. alcaligenes. Evidence that in Ps. aeruginosa these acids are ester-linked to residues of 3-hydroxyalkanoic acids (including 3-hydroxydecanoic acid) was obtained. Heterogeneity of lipid A fractions was indicated by t.l.c., and by gel filtration of de-O-acylation products from mild alkaline methanolysis of the lipids.

Low molecular weight solutes released during mild acid hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharide of Pseudornonas aeruginosa were isolated from the fraction containing the partially degraded polysaccharide, by successive chromatography on columns of Sephadex G-75 and G-10, followed (as necessary) by preparative high voltage paper electrophoresis. The major components identified were 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonic acid, basic amino acids (free and bound), inorganic orthophosphate, ethanolamine phosphate and ethanolamine pyrophosphate. Ethanolamine pyrophosphate has not previously been found in acid hydrolysates of lipopolysaccharides. Ethanolamine phosphate and some of the orthophosphate were apparently produced by breakdown of ethanolamine pyrophosphate.The lipopolysaccharide component of the walls of gram-negative bacteria can be readily cleaved by acid hydrolysis into polysaccharide and lipid fractions. Mild hydrolysis by lo/, acetic acid a t 100 "C for 1 to 2 h is an excellent way of achieving this with, for example, Xalmonella El], Escherichia coli [2,3] and Pseudornonas aeruginosa [4]. The water-insoluble lipid (lipid A) can be removed from hydrolysates by centrifugation or extraction into chloroform, while the partially degraded polysaccharide may be fractionated by chromatography on Sephadex. For polysaccharides from smooth bacterial strains, three fractions may be obtained [2-41. The two major fractions appear to correspond to side chain and core regions of the intact polysaccharide. Little attention has been paid to the third fraction, containing low molecular weight materials, although 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonic acid (KDO) and phosphate have been detected [2,4]. This paper presents the results obtained during a detailed study of the low molecular weight solutes released by mild acid hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharide from P. aeruginosa NCTC 1999. MATERIALS AND METHODS Growth of Bacteria and Preparationof Lipopolysaccharide Walls were prepared by methods described previously [5] from cells of P. aeruginosa NCTC 1999 grown in nutrient broth (Oxoid No. 2) for 16 h a t Unusual Abbreviation. KDO, 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonic acid.

A careful examination of the low-molecular-weight solutes released during mild acid hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharide of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (N.C.T.C. 1999) revealed the presence of ethanolamine triphosphate. During storage, the compound decomposed to give ethanolamine pyrophosphate, identified in a previous study (Drewry et al., 1971); PP(i) may be a further decomposition product. Evidence for the attachment of ethanolamine triphosphate to a polysaccharide fraction was obtained, but the possibility that some was attached to the lipid A moiety was not excluded. Basic compounds released during the hydrolysis of lipopolysaccharide included amino acids, polyamines and oligopeptides.