Mass spectrometry in the clinical microbiology laboratory, part II: MALDI-TOF MS

Recently, mass spectrometry methods have made significant inroads into the clinical microbiology laboratory. This transformation has been driven largely by the success of recent matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization – time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) systems, which provide more rapid, accurate, and inexpensive microbial identification than existing methods. Mass spectrometry is now being used in major clinical microbiology laboratories around the world for microbial identification, not only from pure cultures on solid media and positive blood culture bottles, but also for some direct specimen applications. In part II of this article, we explore recent applications of this technology in the clinical microbiology laboratory.