Performance of mass spectrometric identification of bacteria and yeasts routinely isolated in a clinical microbiology laboratory using MALDI-TOF MS.

Abstract

MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry is a rapid, accurate, and relatively inexpensive method for bacterial and yeast identification. Our results demonstrate that the VITEK(®) MS system is a fast and reliable technique, and has the potential to replace conventional phenotypic identification for most bacterial and yeast strains routinely isolated in clinical microbiology laboratories.