Comparative Evaluation of Bruker Biotyper and ASTA MicroIDSys for Species Identification in a Clinical Microbiology Laboratory

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI–TOF MS) has been widely used for microbial identification, because of its speed and accuracy, since its introduction to clinical microbiology laboratories. In this study, we evaluated the performance of ASTA MicroIDSys, a newly developed MALDI–TOF, and compared it with the widely used Bruker Biotyper. Microbial identification with the Bruker Biotyper system was performed by using a direct smear method and the Bruker Biotyper database (reference library version 6.0.0.0). The isolates were also tested in parallel, using the ASTA MicroIDSys system with a direct smear method and the MicroIDSys database, CoreDB v1.26. A total of 914 clinical isolates were recovered from the clinical specimens. Identical results with confidence scores (≥2.0, for the Bruker Biotyper) and acceptable scores (≥140 for the ASTA MicroIDSys) were obtained for 840 (91.9%) isolates. The minor errors were defined as misidentification at the species level, and the rate was 1.1% (9/792) for Bruker Biotyper and 1.6% (13/792) for ASTA MicroIDSys. Major errors were defined as misidentification at the genus level, and the rate was 0.3% (2/792) for both Bruker Biotyper and ASTA MicroIDSys. ASTA MicroIDSys showed reliable performance for microbial identification, which was comparable to that of the Bruker Biotyper. Therefore, ASTA MicroIDSys can be applied for the identification of microorganisms in clinical microbiology laboratories.

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Performances and Reliability of Bruker Microflex LT and VITEK MS MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry Systems for the Identification of Clinical Microorganisms

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2015/516410 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Kivanc Bilecen ◽

Gorkem Yaman ◽

Ugur Ciftci ◽

Yahya Rauf Laleli

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Clinical Microbiology ◽

Identification Accuracy ◽

Clinical Microbiology Laboratory ◽

Maldi Tof Ms ◽

Microbial Identification ◽

Phenotypic Identification ◽

Maldi Tof ◽

Vitek Ms ◽

Tof Ms

In clinical microbiology laboratories, routine microbial identification is mostly performed using culture based methodologies requiring 24 to 72 hours from culturing to identification. Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) technology has been established as a cost effective, reliable, and faster alternative identification platform. In this study, we evaluated the reliability of the two available MALDI-TOF MS systems for their routine clinical level identification accuracy and efficiency in a clinical microbiology laboratory setting. A total of 1,341 routine phenotypically identified clinical bacterial and fungal isolates were selected and simultaneously analyzed using VITEK MS (bioMérieux, France) and Microflex LT (Bruker Diagnostics, Germany) MALDI-TOF MS systems. For any isolate that could not be identified with either of the systems and for any discordant result, 16S rDNA gene or ITS1/ITS2 sequencing was used. VITEK MS and Microflex LT correctly identified 1,303 (97.17%) and 1,298 (96.79%) isolates to the species level, respectively. In 114 (8.50%) isolates initial phenotypic identification was inaccurate. Both systems showed a similar identification efficiency and workflow robustness, and they were twice as more accurate compared to routine phenotypic identification in our sample pool. MALDITOF systems with their accuracy and robustness offer a good identification platform for routine clinical microbiology laboratories.

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