IDENTIFICATION METHODS | Identification of Clinical Microorganisms with MALDI-TOF-MS in a Microbiology Laboratory

In recent years, matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) has emerged as a particularly powerful tool for analysis and characterization of proteins and peptides derived from whole bacterial cells. This approach allows the identification of bacteria to the genus, species and, in some cases, to the subspecies level. It is now broadly accepted by clinical microbiology laboratories as an innovative tool for definitive bacterial identification, replacing phenotypic or biochemical procedures. There are a large number of recent publications reporting the evaluation of MALDI-TOF-MS in the microbiology laboratory for routine use directly on whole bacteria or on bacterium-positive samples (e.g., blood cultures). MALDI-TOF-MS is a rapid, precise, and cost-effective method for identification of microorganisms, compared with conventional phenotypic or molecular biological techniques. Potential future applications for detection of antibiotic resistance or identification of virulent strains will become useful for the improvement of routine microbial diagnostics.