Online Bacterial Identification Scheme Using MALDI-TOF MS Fingerprint Methodology

摘要

Laboratories engaged in bacterial identification using MALDI-TOF-MS fingerprint methods have typically generated in-house data libraries and comparison software. Most laboratories have limited bacterial strain collections and therefore have limited libraries of data. Some commercial efforts are being made which promise to provide more extensive libraries of data, and elaborate data comparison software. Unfortunately, even these efforts are limited by the extent of collaborations and variations in data that may occur if sample preparation methods vary. We would like to address these issues by creation of web accessible database where data may be used online for species identification. This has the potential to allow multiple laboratories to share such "fingerprint" data, and allow for method development and use. Additionally a simple data comparison algorithm was incorporated which may be used through a web browser.