Application of MALDI-TOF MS Profiling Coupled With Functionalized Magnetic Enrichment for Rapid Identification of Pathogens in a Patient With Open Fracture

Abstract

Posttraumatic infections can occur in orthopedic trauma patients, especially in open fractures. Rapid and accurate identification of pathogens in orthopedic trauma is important for clinical diagnosis and antimicrobial treatment. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been successfully used for first-line identification of pathogens grown on culture plates. However, for direct analysis of liquid clinical specimens, pre-purification of the sample is necessary. Herein, we investigated the feasibility of coupling Fc-MBL@Fe3O4 enrichment with MALDI-TOF MS profiling in the identification of pathogens in liquid-cultured samples. This method is successfully used for the identification of pathogens in a patient with an open-leg fracture obtained at sea. Pathogens were enriched by Fc-MBL@Fe3O4 from briefly pre-cultured liquid media and identified by MALDI-TOF MS. We identified an opportunistic pathogen, Vibrio alginolyticus, which is uncommon in clinical orthopedic trauma infection but exists widely in the sea. Therefore, combining Fc-MBL@Fe3O4 enrichment and MALDI-TOF MS profiling has great potential for direct identification of microbes in clinical samples.

Rapid Pathogen Identification in Aqueous Humor Samples by Combining Fc-MBL@Fe 3 O 4 Enrichment and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry Profiling

“…Our previous study introduced the synthetic process for Fc-MBL@Fe 3 O 4 and the characterization of Fc-MBL@Fe 3 O 4 ( 24 , 25 ). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of the binding of Fc-MBL@Fe 3 O 4 to S. aureus are shown in Fig.…”

“…Specific aptamers and antibodies conjugated to MNPs can enrich certain bacteria or some microorganisms from suspension ( 21 – 23 ). Bacteria in liquid media can be enriched by a novel functionalized magnetic nanoparticle (Fc-MBL@Fe 3 O 4 ) and identified by MALDI-TOF MS ( 24 ). These studies indicated that Fc-MBL@Fe 3 O 4 can effectively purify bacteria from clinical samples or liquid culture media.…”

“Omic” Approaches to Bacteria and Antibiotic Resistance Identification

“…Ying et al investigated the possibility of using pathogen enrichment Fc-MBL@Fe 3 O 4 with MALDI-TOF MS profiling to identify pathogens in samples cultured in liquid. They concluded that Fc-MBL@Fe 3 O 4 could recognize and trap broad-spectrum microorganisms and could, therefore, be adapted to be combined with the MALDI-TOF MS technique [ 103 ].…”

MALDI-TOF MS Is an Effective Technique To Classify Specific Microbiota

“…In recent years, the developed MALDI-TOF commercial platforms include the Bruker (Bruker Daltonics, Germany) Microflex with the Biotyper database, the bioMérieux (Durham, NC) Vitek MS research-use-only system with the SARAMIS SuperSpectra database, the bioMérieux VitekMS in vitro diagnostic system with the Knowledge Base database, and Meihua (Zhuhai, China) M-Discover 100 mass spectrometer with its database ( 10 , 11 ). Among these, MALDI Biotyper and Vitek MS have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( 12 , 13 ).…”