Countercurrent Chromatographic Separation of Bacteria with Known Differences in Surface Lipopolysaccharide

Countercurrent chromatography was used to separate cells of Salmonella typhimurium whose surfaces were identical except for the proportion of lipopolysaccharide molecules with long versus short chain polysaccharide chains. Large differences in partition properties resulted from slight differences in polysaccharide composition, and the results suggest that the physical state of the molecules, as well as their composition, can affect the partition of such cells.