Enhancing Allergy Diagnosis: Mass Spectrometry as a Complementary Technique to the Basophil Activation Test (BAT)

Wheeler, Nicole; Sanda, Miloslav; Paige, Mikell; Plassmeyer, Matthew; Elemary, Noha; Rasool, Lanya; Alpan, Arda; Safi, Hamed; Loizou, Denise; Sonder, Soren; Alpan, Oral; Girgis, Michael

doi:10.3389/falgy.2025.1568670

REVIEW article

Front. Allergy

Sec. Food Allergy

Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/falgy.2025.1568670

This article is part of the Research TopicPrediction of Severity of Food AllergyView all articles

Enhancing Allergy Diagnosis: Mass Spectrometry as a Complementary Technique to the Basophil Activation Test (BAT)

Provisionally accepted

Nicole Wheeler¹

Miloslav Sanda²

Mikell Paige¹

Matthew Plassmeyer³

Noha Elemary¹

Lanya Rasool¹

Arda Alpan⁴

Hamed Safi¹

Denise Loizou⁴

Soren Sonder⁴

Oral Alpan⁴

Michael Girgis^1*

¹George Mason University, Fairfax, United States
²Max-Planck-Institut fuer Herz und Lungenforschung, Bad Nauheim, Germany
³Amerimmune, LLC, Fairfax, Virginia, United States
⁴Amerimmune LLC, McLean, Virginia, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Accurate diagnostic tools for allergic conditions are essential for effective treatment. Traditional methods, such as skin prick tests (SPT) and specific IgE measurements are widely used, but they have limitations in sensitivity and specificity for certain allergens. While the Basophil Activation Test (BAT) offers improved specificity, particularly for allergens such as peanut and sesame, its practicality and accessibility remain challenges. Mass spectrometry (MS) has recently gained recognition as a promising complementary tool in allergy diagnostics, offering high analytical precision and the capability to detect a wide range of allergen-specific biomarkers. This review explores the integration of MS into allergy diagnostics, emphasizing its potential to enhance BAT applications, particularly for non-responders. We discuss the underlying mechanisms, recent research highlighting its efficacy, and the technical challenges that must be addressed for clinical adoption. Additionally, we examine the standardization requirements and ethical considerations necessary for MS to become a routine diagnostic tool. Finally, we consider the future of allergy diagnostics, highlighting how MS technology could contribute to more precise, personalized, and patient-centered care in allergy management.

Keywords: BAT, Mass Spectrometry, food allergy, diagnostics, specificity, Sensitivity

Received: 30 Jan 2025; Accepted: 09 Apr 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Wheeler, Sanda, Paige, Plassmeyer, Elemary, Rasool, Alpan, Safi, Loizou, Sonder, Alpan and Girgis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Michael Girgis, George Mason University, Fairfax, United States

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.