9:07 AM Jurnal MALDITOF -abstrak-eng

Identification of bacterial and yeast isolates from clinical specimens has traditionally been performed by examination of both macroscopic and microscopic colony morphology, in addition to characterization by classic tube biochemical sets. While these methods remain the gold standard for identification, they can be laborious to perform, requiring

both long incubation periods and a significant amount of technologist hands-on time, and the resulting reactions may ultimately be subjective to interpret. These drawbacks were largely alleviated with the advent of automated biochemical testing platforms and, later, with the development of molecular-based DNA sequencing and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques. Though reliable and with an improved turnaround time compared to conventional identification methods, molecular testing continues to be associated with a significantly higher cost, and requires advanced user expertise for assay development, performance, and analysis. These factors altogether limit routine implementation of molecular diagnostic methods to large hospitals and reference laboratories. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) is an automated, molecular platform recently adopted by many clinical laboratories worldwide, which effectively circumvents many of these drawbacks

and offers a rapid, straightforward, and inexpensive method for identifying bacterial and fungal organisms.