Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) Analysis for the Identification of Pathogenic Microorganisms: A Review

Xin-Fei Chen; Xin Hou; Meng Xiao; Li Zhang; Jing-Wei Cheng; Meng-Lan Zhou; Jing-Jing Huang; Jing-Jia Zhang; Ying-Chun Xu; Po-Ren Hsueh

doi:10.3390/microorganisms9071536

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) Analysis for the Identification of Pathogenic Microorganisms: A Review

Microorganisms. 2021 Jul 19;9(7):1536. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9071536.

Authors

Xin-Fei Chen^{1

2

3}, Xin Hou^{1

3}, Meng Xiao^{1

3}, Li Zhang^{1

3}, Jing-Wei Cheng⁴, Meng-Lan Zhou^{1

3}, Jing-Jing Huang^{1

2

3}, Jing-Jia Zhang^{1

3}, Ying-Chun Xu^{1

3}, Po-Ren Hsueh^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Laboratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
² Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
³ Beijing Key Laboratory for Mechanisms Research and Precision Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases, Beijing 100730, China.
⁴ Center of Clinical Laboratory, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China.
⁵ Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, School of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.
⁶ Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei 100, Taiwan.

Abstract

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been used in the field of clinical microbiology since 2010. Compared with the traditional technique of biochemical identification, MALDI-TOF MS has many advantages, including convenience, speed, accuracy, and low cost. The accuracy and speed of identification using MALDI-TOF MS have been increasing with the development of sample preparation, database enrichment, and algorithm optimization. MALDI-TOF MS has shown promising results in identifying cultured colonies and rapidly detecting samples. MALDI-TOF MS has critical research applications for the rapid detection of highly virulent and drug-resistant pathogens. Here we present a scientific review that evaluates the performance of MALDI-TOF MS in identifying clinical pathogenic microorganisms. MALDI-TOF MS is a promising tool in identifying clinical microorganisms, although some aspects still require improvement.

Keywords: matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS); pathogenic microorganism identification.

Publication types

Review

Abstract

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