Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry for the Clinical Laboratory
Chris D. Doern, Robert C. Jerris and Mark D. Gonzalez
from: MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry in Microbiology (Edited by: Markus Kostrzewa and Sören Schubert). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2016) Pages: 9-32.
Abstract
In the last decade, few technologies have had a greater impact on clinical microbiology than matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). To say it has revolutionized the discipline would be an understatement. The ability to cost-effectively and rapidly identify microorganisms from broth and plated media by MALDI-TOF MS is replacing the more arduous, and time consuming biochemical and antigen-based identification methods as well as some genetic-sequence-based methodologies. In this chapter we succinctly review the role of MALDI-TOF MS in the routine laboratory, focusing on the key functions in pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical perspectives. We acknowledge the thousands of papers and investigators that have contributed to our knowledge on this subject read more ...
