Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for bacterial strain characterization

Abstract

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has emerged as a new technique for rapid and effective bacterial species identification in clinical microbiology laboratories. Conventional bacterial identification is based essentially on biochemical tests and requires lengthy incubation procedures. By contrast, MALDI-TOF MS can identify bacterial species in a few minutes, directly from a freshly grown colony. Various approaches have been developed for bacterial identification and the efficacy of this method has been demonstrated in several studies. This technique should also be suitable for the classification of organisms to subspecies level and for the phenotypic detection of certain antibiotic resistance mechanisms, such as β-lactamases production.