Vet World   Vol.15   November-2022  Article-16

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry in veterinary medicine: Recent advances (2019–present)

Background and Aim: Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) has become a valuable laboratory tool for rapid diagnostics, research, and exploration in veterinary medicine. While instrument acquisition costs are high for the technology, cost per sample is very low, the method requires minimal sample preparation, and analysis is easily conducted by end-users requiring minimal training. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight MS has found widespread application for the rapid identification of microorganisms, diagnosis of dermatophytes and parasites, protein/lipid profiling, molecular diagnostics, and the technique demonstrates significant promise for 2D chemical mapping of tissue sections collected postmortem. In this review, an overview of the MALDI-TOF technique will be reported and manuscripts outlining current uses of the technology for veterinary science since 2019 will be summarized. The article concludes by discussing gaps in knowledge and areas of future growth.

Keywords: biotyping, imaging, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight, microorganism identification, proteomics, veterinary diagnostics.

How to cite this article: Thompson JE (2022) Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry in veterinary medicine: Recent advances (2019–present), Veterinary World, 15(11): 2623–2657.

Received: 26-07-2022  Accepted: 11-10-2022     Published online: 21-11-2022

Corresponding author: Jonathan E. Thompson   E-mail: jon.thompson@ttu.edu

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.2623-2657

Copyright: Thompson, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.