Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry identification of mycobacteria in routine clinical practice.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria recovered from respiratory tract specimens are emerging confounder organisms for the laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis worldwide. There is an urgent need for new techniques to rapidly identify mycobacteria isolated in clinical practice. Matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has previously been proven to effectively identify mycobacteria grown in high-concentration inocula from collections. However, a thorough evaluation of its use in routine laboratory practice has not been performed.

Methodology

We set up an original protocol for the MALDI-TOF MS identification of heat-inactivated mycobacteria after dissociation in Tween-20, mechanical breaking of the cell wall and protein extraction with

SUBMITTER: El Khechine A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3172293 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature