Current status and future prospects of MALDI-TOF MS microbial identification

It has been found that a method using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is useful as a new microbial identification method. Since MALDI Biotyper System (Bruker Japan K.K.) received the IVD-CE mark in Europe in 2009, over 6,000 systems are now in operation around the world. Compared to conventional methods, identification using MALDI- TOF MS has lower running costs, including pretreatment, and can provide identification results quickly. This method is an innovative technology in microbial testing and can be said to have become a new standard. On the other hand, there are high expectations for drug resistance detection using MALDI-TOF MS. In recent years, the data using MALDI Biotyper system have been reported in many papers, including automatic detection of peaks characteristic of drug-resistant bacteria, assays that detect β-lactamase activity based on mass shifts caused by drug hydrolysis, and detection of colistin resistance using lipid markers. This paper introduces the current state of microbial identification using MALDI-TOF MS, application examples, and the latest technology.