Abstract
Summary
A chemical separation procedure which yields four arbitrary cell fractions has been developed and applied to three serotypes of leptospires. The four complement-fixing fractions are non-dialyzable, pentose-containing materials, the serological activities of which have been measured semi-quantitatively. One or more complement-fixing principles, of nature not yet known, are concentrated in two chemically distinct, relatively free of protein, polysaccharide-containing cell fractions. The protein constituent (Fraction 3) of the leptospiral cell was poorly reactive in the complement fixation test. Spectrophotometric differences among preparations of Fraction 2 from three serotypes may prove to be an aid in the differentiation of serotypes.
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