Rapidhigh-throughput microbial characterization by metabolite and protein profiling of whole cells using soft-ionization mass spectrometry.

The development of techniques for the rapid characterization of microorganisms is important in assessing food and environmental safety, in medical diagnosis, and in the screening of biotechnol. relevant metabolites. Soft ionization mass spectrometry of whole cells, with minimal sample prepn., offers the potential for rapid, high-throughput microbial characterization based on specific biomarkers, protein or metabolite profiles. Electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) are two complementary soft-ionization mass spectrometry (MS) methods that we are developing for the anal. of whole microbial cells and which produce predominantly metabolite and protein profiles. This presentation will give an overview on the characterization of the spectral information, optimization of exptl. conditions and the application of flow injection ESI-MS and MALDI-MS for the discrimination of microbial strains using chemometric techniques.