Determination of polyribosylribitol phosphate (PRP) in Haemophilus influenzae vaccine

Ion chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection

Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) is a major cause of bacterial meningitis in children in many countries. The capsular polysaccharide (PS) of Hib plays an important role in the virulence of the organism. Current methods to determine PS content in vaccines such as Hib are imprecise and unreliable, especially if the vaccine contains a sugar stabilizer (e.g. lactose).

Ion chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (IC-PAD, or HPAEC-PAD) offers a simpler procedure and better sensitivity than other assays to quantify PS (in this white paper, polyribosylribitol phosphate [PRP]) in Hib vaccine.