This method compares peptide mass fingerprints of strains of interest with those of reference strains in the
spectral database*.
What cases or type of samples fit this identification method?
Detection of targeted species e.g. you want to test whether isolated strains from samples or products are targeted species or not.
Confirmation of your strains i.e. we can keep peptide fingerprints of your strains (although they are unknown species) to be used as reference to confirm strains you submit to test in the future.
Advantages
The method is sensitive and precise enough to differentiate highly similar strains.
The process is rapid; therefore, it has been currently used in microbial identification, strain mapping and detection of pathogens.
The process is economical in terms of labor and operation cost.
Limitations
Identification of new isolates is possible only if the database contains peptide mass fingerprints of the type strains of specific taxa. It cannot be reported what are the closest related taxa or at the higher taxon affiliation.
* We continually conduct research to add additional species to the database to cover wider range of microorganisms.
