抄録
As an alternative to commonly used biochemical, morphological, or gene technological analysis, we have evaluated a novel method for rapid classification of microorganism retrieved from used contact lens cases based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Test microorganisms were isolated from contact lens cases. The cases were used daily for lens storage and care for 2 weeks. For this evaluation study, 659 microorganism isolates from the contact lens cases of 16 subjects were analyzed by MALDI-TOF-MS. The mass spectra obtained from the test isolates were compared with authentic spectra of a library database using application software Biotyper 2.0 (Bruker Daltonics). Results show that 644 of 659 (97.7%) isolates were successfully identified and classified into species by the MALDI-based method. Furthermore, these results were interpreted in terms of the risk of infectious disease. Our method is especially useful for simultaneous classification of a large number of test microorganisms because of fewer preparative steps and lower cost.
