Capsular saccharides derived from serogroups W135 and Y of Neisseriameningitidis have altered levels of O-acetylation at the 7 and 9 positions oftheir sialic acid residues, and can be used to make immunogenic compositions.Relative to unmodifed native saccharides, derivatives of the invention arepreferentially selected during conjugation to carrier proteins, and conjugatesof the derivatives show improved immunogenicity compared to nativepolysaccharides.