AUTHOR=Ying Jichong , Gao Wenjing , Huang Dichao , Ding Chuanfan , Ling Ling , Pan Tao , Yu Shaoning TITLE=Application of MALDI-TOF MS Profiling Coupled With Functionalized Magnetic Enrichment for Rapid Identification of Pathogens in a Patient With Open Fracture JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry VOLUME=9 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2021.672744 DOI=10.3389/fchem.2021.672744 ISSN=2296-2646 ABSTRACT=

Posttraumatic infections can occur in orthopedic trauma patients, especially in open fractures. Rapid and accurate identification of pathogens in orthopedic trauma is important for clinical diagnosis and antimicrobial treatment. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been successfully used for first-line identification of pathogens grown on culture plates. However, for direct analysis of liquid clinical specimens, pre-purification of the sample is necessary. Herein, we investigated the feasibility of coupling Fc-MBL@Fe3O4 enrichment with MALDI-TOF MS profiling in the identification of pathogens in liquid-cultured samples. This method is successfully used for the identification of pathogens in a patient with an open-leg fracture obtained at sea. Pathogens were enriched by Fc-MBL@Fe3O4 from briefly pre-cultured liquid media and identified by MALDI-TOF MS. We identified an opportunistic pathogen, Vibrio alginolyticus, which is uncommon in clinical orthopedic trauma infection but exists widely in the sea. Therefore, combining Fc-MBL@Fe3O4 enrichment and MALDI-TOF MS profiling has great potential for direct identification of microbes in clinical samples.