Bruker Introduces Comprehensive Mycobacteria Library 3.0 for High-Performance MALDI Biotyper Mycobacteria Identification

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

At the 115th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Bruker BRKR announced a major version 3.0 expansion of the proven Mycobacteria Library for research use only on the MALDI Biotyper microbial mass spectrometry system.

The new Mycobacteria Library 3.0 now includes 149 different species for comprehensive species coverage, enabling significantly improved rapid and accurate identification of almost all described mycobacteria species. Intra-species diversity is covered by hundreds of analyzed strains. Twenty-four laboratories from nine countries from all over the world provided well-characterized clinical mycobacteria strains, completing an already comprehensive set of isolates from strain collections. A recently published research study has shown that out of 1,045 mycobacteria samples, 94% could be identified on the species level with high confidence, and another 4.5% could be identified with lower confidence [1], using Mycobacteria Library 3.0.

The genus Mycobacterium includes, as major groups, the important pathogens of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) and the non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Members of the latter group are increasingly the cause of opportunistic infections among immuno-compromised patients. This trend and the rise of antibiotic resistance in this genus require improved differentiation of mycobacteria species.

The identification of mycobacteria is one of the most challenging tasks of many microbiological research laboratories. For this purpose, Bruker has developed the optimized MycoEx™ preparation protocol, resulting in stream-lined and straightforward mycobacteria species identification, while ensuring the safety of technicians processing such samples. With the new MycoEx™ preparation protocol and the new Mycobacteria Library 3.0, the MALDI Biotyper has become an even more powerful research tool for the thorough characterization of mycobacteria.

Dr. Arthur Pranada, Head of the Microbiology Laboratory, MVZ Dr. Eberhard & Partner in Dortmund, Germany, commented: "According to our experience, the MALDI Biotyper, combined with the new Mycobacteria Library 3.0 and the optimized sample preparation protocol, provide outstanding performance for identifying mycobacteria. The broad range of covered species and the ease-of-use of the technology now allow us to identify mycobacteria in medical microbiology research in a much more precise way. We now can obtain identifications of rare and uncommon species. In some research studies we even see species that formerly could not be distinguished from other closely related mycobacteria by our classical methods based on DNA hybridization. For example, in one study we found a Mycobacterium arupense in a blood culture. To date, only a few infections with this microorganism have been described. We also were able to identify Mycobacterium marseillense from a respiratory sample. This is a species newly described in 2009 and closely related to other species in the Mycobacterium avium complex. The species within the M. avium complex are known for being difficult to get precisely differentiated by standard methods. The latest identification accuracy of the MALDI Biotyper with the Mycobacteria Library 3.0 also will help us to broaden our knowledge of non-tuberculous mycobacteria and related infections."

Mr. George Goedesky, the Bruker Daltonics Vice President responsible for the MALDI Biotyper in the Americas, commented: "The new Mycobacteria Library 3.0 supports research microbiologists in identifying some of the most challenging microorganisms with very high performance. Based on customer feedback, we believe that this significantly enhanced and unmatched mycobacteria identification capability will further establish the MALDI Biotyper as a standard research tool of many microbiologists."

[1] Pranada et al., Poster 1190, ECCMID 2015, Copenhagen, Denmark

About the Bruker MALDI Biotyper

The MALDI Biotyper family of systems enables molecular identification, and taxonomical classification of microorganisms like bacteria, yeasts and fungi. Classification and identification of microorganisms is achieved reliably and quickly using proteomic fingerprinting by high-throughput MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The MALDI Biotyper uses a molecular approach based on specific proteomic fingerprints from bacterial strains and published studies have highlighted the greater accuracy and lower cost offered, as well as the much faster time-to-result (TTR).

Applications of the various MALDI Biotyper solutions include environmental and pharmaceutical analysis, taxonomical research, food and consumer product safety and quality control, as well as veterinary microbiology. In many European and international laboratories the MALDI Biotyper has replaced classical biochemical testing for bacterial identification due to the accuracy, speed, extensive species coverage, ease of use and cost effectiveness of the system. Classical biochemical techniques detect different metabolic properties of microorganisms, can take many hours or even days for completion, and they often lack specificity.

The robust MALDI Biotyper method requires minimal sample preparation and offers low consumables cost. The products of the MALDI Biotyper family are available in a research-use-only (RUO) version. RUO versions of the MALDI Biotyper even allow selected high-value antimicrobial resistance tests in translational research.

About Bruker Corporation BRKR

For more than 50 years, Bruker has enabled scientists to make breakthrough discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker's high-performance scientific research instruments and high-value analytical solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular and microscopic levels.

In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, productivity and customer success in life science molecular research, in applied and pharma applications, in microscopy, nano-analysis and industrial applications, as well as in cell biology, preclinical imaging, clinical research, microbiology and molecular diagnostics. For more information, please visit: http://www.bruker.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150601005075/en/