Three conjugation methods for use with the capsular saccharide of Streptococcus agalactiae. In the first method, reductive amination of oxidized sialic acid residue side chains is used, but the aldehyde groups are first aminated, and then the amine is coupled to a carrier via a linker. In the second method, sialic acid residues and/or N-acetyl-glucosamine residues are de-N-acetylated to give amine groups, and the amine groups are coupled to a carrier protein via a linker. In the third method, linkage is via galactose residues in the capsular saccharide rather than sialic acid residues, which can conveniently be achieved using galactose oxidase.
