Some of the microbial exopolysaccharides that might be proposed for vaccine development are very poor immunogens in humans. This is the case with the group B meningococcal polysaccharides and the structurally identical products from Escherichia coli K1.Both are 2,8-a-linked sialic acid homopolysaccharides (p. 24). In colominic acid from the E. coli strain, the poor immunogenicity could in part be related to the low average chain length of 16-17 monosaccharides. However, the group B meningococcal polymer is larger, with a chain length of 190-200. Clearly chain length in itself is not the determining factor in the immunogenicity of these exopolysaccharides, although conformation may play a role. By contrast, N. meningitides group C sialic acid has an average chain length of about 320 and, like the group B material, possesses phosphatidyl diglyceride moieties that are covalently bound to the reducing termini of the polysaccharide chains. The poor immunogenicity is more probably due to immunological tolerance of tissue components with structurally identical sialic acid-containing glycolipids. The structural similarities between the bacterial product and the host material probably also account for the role of the former as virulence factors in bacterial meningitis. A possible solution to this problem has been explored through the chemical modification of the bacterial sialic acids. Coupling of the polysaccharides to protein carriers failed to provide a suitable immunogen. As an alternative procedure, chemical modification has been attempted, the aim being to obtain a simple procedure and avoid chemical degradation of the bacterial polysaccharides. The method finally adopted involved the removal of N-acetyl groups and their replacement with N-propionyl groups. As this also involves a reduction in the molecular mass of the bacterial polymers, the modified sialic were coupled to tetanus toxoid. In animal systems this approach yields a good artificial immunogen, which induces antibodies cross-reacting with group B meningococcal polysaccharides and killing the bacteria in the presence of complement.