The Use of Affinity Capture Mass Spectrometry for Detection of Biomarker Proteins and Biological Warfare Agents

摘要

Following clinical infection or biological attack situation, there is a need for rapid analysis of contamination and assessment of disease transmission. While current methods for bacterial detection can be tedious and time consuming, affinity capture mass spectrometry enables rapid analysis of many samples to detect the presence of bacteria in biological and environmental samples. Here, we report a technique that utilizes a surface functionalized with bioaffinity capture agents to detect the presence of Staphylococcus aureus, illustrating that this technique can be used to extract biomarkers from complex matrices, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry can be utilized to promptly detect the presence of bacterial proteins. Additionally, this technique has been applied to the isolation of hemoglobin from whole blood and tick nymph homogenates for identification of tick hosts, allowing for the tracking and control of tick borne disease transmission.