Extracting and visualizing matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectral fingerprints

• Published in: Rapid communications in mass spectrometry 1999-08, Vol.13 (15), p.1586-1594
• Main Authors: Jarman, Kristin H., Daly, Don S., Petersen, Catherine E., Saenz, Adam J., Valentine, Nancy B., Wahl, Karen L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacillus - chemistry; Bacteria - chemistry; Escherichia coli - chemistry; Reproducibility of Results; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization - methods; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization - statistics & numerical data
• ISSN: 0951-4198; 1097-0231
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0231(19990815)13:15<1586::AID-RCM680>3.0.CO;2-2

We have developed a method for constructing and extracting matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) fingerprints. This method is fully automated and statistically based, allowing a large number of spectra to be analyzed at a time in an objective manner. This method can be used to extract the fingerprint of a particular analyte from a spectrum containing multiple analytes. Therefore, this method lends itself well to real‐world applications where samples to be analyzed are likely to be impure. We illustrate this method on experimental results from a series of studies of E. coli and B. atrophaeus MALDI time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) fingerprints. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.