Profile
International Journal of Clinical & Medical Microbiology Volume 3 (2018), Article ID 3:IJCMM-129, 4 pages
https://doi.org/10.15344/2456-4028/2018/129
Commentary
Applications of MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry for the Routine Identification of Microorganisms

Rodríguez-Sánchez Belén1,2,3

1Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Spain
2Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Spain
3CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Madrid, Spain
Dr. Belén Rodríguez-Sánchez, Servicio de Microbiología-Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; E-mail: mbelen.rodriguez@iisgm.com
16 December 2017; 08 February 2018; 10 February 2018
Rodríguez-Sánchez B (2018) Applications of MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry for the Routine Identification of Microorganisms. Int J Clin Med Microbiol 3: 129. doi: https://doi.org/10.15344/2456-4028/2018/129

Abstract

The emerging of MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry as a diagnostic tool for the identification of micro-organism has transformed most microbiology laboratories, where phenotypic and cumbersome conventional techniques are still applied currently. Its implementation has allowed high-throughput, rapid, inexpensive and accurate identification of the most clinically relevant bacteria, yeast and mold species [1-5].

The last decade has witnessed how MALDI-TOF MS was increasingly applied for a higher number of microorganisms, available databases grew and sample preparations procedures improved allowing not just the identification of the organism, but also their antibiotic or antifungal susceptibility pattern [6-10] until, recently, several studies have demonstrated MALDI-TOF usefulness for epidemiological studies [11,12].