Carbohydrate receptor for bacteria and method for use thereof

摘要

The invention is a method for detecting pathogenic bacteria by specific binding of the bacteria to GalNAc beta 1-4Gal sequences found in fucosyl-asialo GM1, asialo GM1 and asialo GM2. An agglutination reaction is disclosed comprising contacting a culture suspected of containing the bacteria with a suspension of a purified carbohydrate compound bound to an insoluble carrier and detecting the presence of perceptible agglutination of the carrier as an indication of the presence of the bacteria. Bacteria which can be detected using the claimed method include Pseudomonas, Haemophilus, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella and Streptococcus pneumoniae.