Safety and Accuracy of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization - Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to Identify Highly Pathogenic Organisms.

4 years ago

Safety and Accuracy of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization - Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to Identify Highly Pathogenic Organisms.

Tran, Lee, Sullivan, Reiter-Kintz, Perry, Pettit, Soehnlen, Swaney, Rudrik

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization -- time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) sample preparation methods including the direct, on-plate formic acid, and ethanol/formic acid tube extraction were evaluated for their ability to render highly pathogenic organisms non-viable and safe for handling in a Biosafety Level-2 laboratory. Of these, the tube extraction procedure was the most successful, with none of the tested strains surviving this sample preparation method. Tube extracts from several agents of bioterrorism and their near neighbors were analyzed in an eight laboratory study to examine the utility of the Bruker Biotyper and Vitek MS MALDI-TOF MS systems and their IVD, research use only, and Security-Relevant databases, as applicable, to accurately identify these agents. Forty-six distinct strains of Bacillus anthracis, Yersinia pestis, Francisella tularensis, Burkholderia mallei, Burkholderia pseudomallei, Clostridium botulinum, Brucella melitensis, Brucella abortus, Brucella suis, and Brucella canis were extracted and distributed to participating labs for analysis. A total of 35 near neighbor isolates were also analyzed.

Publisher URL: http://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01023-17

DOI: 10.1128/JCM.01023-17