University Medical Center in Goettingen to Use Bruker Daltonics' Microbial Identification System

The Institute for Medical Microbiology of the University Medical Center in Goettingen, Germany (Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, or UMG), has installed Bruker Daltonics’ MALDI Biotyper as their molecular microbial identification system.

The MALDI Biotyper library of yeasts strains provides for a more thorough characterization of these microorganisms. The identification of yeasts and fungi on the species level is one of the most challenging tasks of many microbiology laboratories. It has been shown in several peer-reviewed publications that the MALDI Biotyper based molecular fingerprint of yeasts provides significant differentiation on the species level. Currently more than 40 different Candida species can be reliably identified when using the MALDI Biotyper reference library.

“After evaluating the currently commercially available MALDI TOF based microorganisms identification systems, it was clear to us that the MALDI Biotyper will improve and support our microbiology work due to its performance in identifying difficult bacteria, yeasts, and fungi samples,” says Michael Weig of UMG.

“Deciding to go with Bruker’s high-end autoflex TOF/TOF instrument in addition allows us to identify new proteins as part of complex microorganisms’ cell walls and their biological functions in respective molecular processes. We will also work on a better understanding of some resistance mechanisms of yeasts and fungi, which are not yet fully understood. In addition, we plan to evaluate how to combine Bruker’s standardized fungi workflow with current EUCAST recommendations for standardized fungi antibiogram generation.”

The UMG Institute for Medical Microbiology is responsible for research, teaching, and diagnosis of bacteriological, mycological, and parasitological infectious diseases. Moreover the institute is also the German National Reference Centre for systemic mycosis and runs hundreds of yeasts and fungi samples per year.

Bruker’s dedicated MALDI Biotyper solution enables molecular identification, taxonomical classification, or dereplication of microorganisms like bacteria, yeasts, and fungi. Classification and identification of microorganisms is achieved reliably and fast using proteomic fingerprinting with high-throughput MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Applications include clinical routine microbial identification, environmental and pharmaceutical analysis, taxonomical research, food and consumer product processing and quality control, as well as marine microbiology.