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. 2021 Feb 28;21(1):69.
doi: 10.1186/s12866-021-02102-8.

Headspace analyses using multi-capillary column-ion mobility spectrometry allow rapid pathogen differentiation in hospital-acquired pneumonia relevant bacteria

Nils Kunze-Szikszay  1 , Maximilian Euler  2 , Martin Kuhns  3 , Melanie Thieß  4 , Uwe Groß  3 , Michael Quintel  2 , Thorsten Perl  5
Affiliations

Headspace analyses using multi-capillary column-ion mobility spectrometry allow rapid pathogen differentiation in hospital-acquired pneumonia relevant bacteria

Nils Kunze-Szikszay et al. BMC Microbiol. .

Abstract

Background: Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is a common problem in intensive care medicine and the patient outcome depends on the fast beginning of adequate antibiotic therapy. Until today pathogen identification is performed using conventional microbiological methods with turnaround times of at least 24 h for the first results. It was the aim of this study to investigate the potential of headspace analyses detecting bacterial species-specific patterns of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for the rapid differentiation of HAP-relevant bacteria.

Methods: Eleven HAP-relevant bacteria (Acinetobacter baumanii, Acinetobacter pittii, Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytoca, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Serratia marcescens) were each grown for 6 hours in Lysogeny Broth and the headspace over the grown cultures was investigated using multi-capillary column-ion mobility spectrometry (MCC-IMS) to detect differences in the VOC composition between the bacteria in the panel. Peak areas with changing signal intensities were statistically analysed, including significance testing using one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis test (p < 0.05).

Results: 30 VOC signals (23 in the positive ion mode and 7 in the negative ion mode of the MCC-IMS) showed statistically significant differences in at least one of the investigated bacteria. The VOC patterns of the bacteria within the HAP panel differed substantially and allowed species differentiation.

Conclusions: MCC-IMS headspace analyses allow differentiation of bacteria within HAP-relevant panel after 6 h of incubation in a complex fluid growth medium. The method has the potential to be developed towards a feasible point-of-care diagnostic tool for pathogen differentiation on HAP.

Keywords: Ion mobility spectrometry; Metabolite; Microbiological techniques; Pneumonia; Volatile organic compound.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The positions of all VOC signals analysed in this study (positive and negative ion mode) in a 2D topographic plot with the x-axis indicating inverse ion mobility (1/K0 [Vs/cm2]) and the y-axis indicating the MCC retention time (RT [s])
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Images of all VOCs analysed in this study comparing the respective peak regions in all bacterial species of the HAP panel
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The positions of all 30 VOCs analysed in this study in a representative topographic plot of MCC-IMS measurements of the headspace over sterile LB medium in (a) the positive and (b) the negative ion mode of the MCC-IMS device. The remaining VOC signals and plot areas did not change during the experiments and were considered to be part of the volatile background
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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