Purification and evaluation of glycerol teichoic acid from biofilm forming Staphylococcus epidermidis as a putative vaccine candidate

Introduction: Biofilm forming Staphylococcus epidermidis is a main causative agent of infections related to medical devices. Purification and evaluation of Gly-TA polysaccharide from a biofilm-forming S. epidermidis as a putative vaccine candidate were the main goals of the current study. Methods: Taking advantage of size exclusion chromatography procedure, glycerol teichoic acid (Gly-TA) was purified from the above-mentioned strain and biochemical analyses including, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (H1-NMR) were conducted for the recovered polysaccharide. Results: Following PCR confirmation of a S. epidermidis strain, Gly-TA was extracted and its biochemical compositions (i.e. N-acetyl glucose amine residues) were obtained. Conclusion: It is envisaged that Gly-TA polysaccharide could be considered as a putative vaccine to inhibit formation of biofilm by S. epidermidis.