Efficient Synthesis of Meningococcal X Polysaccharide Repeating Unit (N-Acetylglucosamine-4-phosphate) as Analytical Standard for Polysaccharide Determination

Serogroup X Neisseria meningitidis (MenX) is emerging in many African countries as a major cause of meningococcal meningitis, but no preventative therapy against this serogroup is yet available. N-Acetylglucosamine-4-phosphate (4P-GlcNAc), the monomeric repeating unit of MenX polysaccharide, is an important requirement for the development of an analytical method specific for MenX polysaccharide quantification. At the moment, this compound is not commercially available. Herein an efficient preparation of this monosaccharide is reported.