Progress in proteomics for clinical microbiology: MALDI-TOF MS for microbial species identification and more

• Published in: Expert review of proteomics Vol. 12; no. 6; p. 595
• Main Authors: van Belkum, Alex, Chatellier, Sonia, Girard, Victoria, Pincus, David, Deol, Parampal, Dunne, Jr, Wm Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 02.11.2015
• Subjects: Microbiological Techniques - methods; Proteomics - methods; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization - methods; MALDI-TOF MS; antimicrobial susceptibility testing; epidemiology; identification; clinical microbiology; matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry
• DOI: 10.1586/14789450.2015.1091731

Although classical proteomic approaches are still used regularly in routine clinical diagnostic procedures, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) MS has recently moved into diagnostic microbiology laboratories. MALDI-TOF MS is currently replacing phenotypic microbial identification. Many laboratories now use MALDI-TOF MS for its high efficiency, both from a diagnostic and a cost-per-analysis point of view. The US FDA has now cleared two of the commercially available systems for in vitro diagnostics. This will further spark development of MS applications in antimicrobial susceptibility testing and epidemiology. This review summarizes the state of affairs of MALDI-TOF MS in clinical microbiology; however, this is an active field of research subject to rapid evolution. We emphasize assessment of the clinical relevance and studies focusing on data obtained through comparative analyses of different MALDI-TOF MS instrumentation and multicenter validation studies. The future of MALDI-TOF MS, including antimicrobial susceptibility testing and epidemiological typing, is also highlighted.