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Review
. 2020 Jun 25;58(6):883-896.
doi: 10.1515/cclm-2019-0868.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS): basics and clinical applications

Muhammad Zubair Israr  1 , Dennis Bernieh  1 , Andrea Salzano  2 , Shabana Cassambai  1 , Yoshiyuki Yazaki  1 , Toru Suzuki  1
Affiliations
Review

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS): basics and clinical applications

Muhammad Zubair Israr et al. Clin Chem Lab Med. .

Abstract

Background Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS) has been used for more than 30 years. Compared with other analytical techniques, it offers ease of use, high throughput, robustness, cost-effectiveness, rapid analysis and sensitivity. As advantages, current clinical techniques (e.g. immunoassays) are unable to directly measure the biomarker; rather, they measure secondary signals. MALDI-MS has been extensively researched for clinical applications, and it is set for a breakthrough as a routine tool for clinical diagnostics. Content This review reports on the principles of MALDI-MS and discusses current clinical applications and the future clinical prospects for MALDI-MS. Furthermore, the review assesses the limitations currently experienced in clinical assays, the advantages and the impact of MALDI-MS to transform clinical laboratories. Summary MALDI-MS is widely used in clinical microbiology for the screening of microbial isolates; however, there is scope to apply MALDI-MS in the diagnosis, prognosis, therapeutic drug monitoring and biopsy imaging in many diseases. Outlook There is considerable potential for MALDI-MS in clinic as a tool for screening, profiling and imaging because of its high sensitivity and specificity over alternative techniques.

Keywords: MALDI; biomarker; clinical; disease; mass spectrometry.

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References

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