COPENHAGEN, Denmark--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
At the 25th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious
Diseases (ECCMID), Bruker today announced the introduction of the MALDI
Biotypersmart (MBTsmart),
a new high-throughput option in the MALDI Biotyper product family
of bench-top MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry systems for microbiology
laboratories. The MBTsmart is
IVD-CE labeled according to EU directive EC/98/79, and fully integrated
with the new IVD MALDI Sepsityper workflow for rapid
microbial identification from positive blood cultures.
The new MALDI Biotypersmart is
equipped with Bruker’s proprietary smartbeamTM
solid-state laser, which increases the laser lifetime by an order of
magnitude. In practice, this makes the smartbeam laser
essentially a ‘lifetime’ laser for most microbiology applications and
typical sample throughputs today. Smartbeam is a
Bruker-proprietary laser technology which combines the higher speed and
lifetime of a solid-state laser with the analytical MALDI performance of
a nitrogen laser.
The MALDI Biotypersmart also
features a more than three times higher laser repetition rate for even
faster Time-to-Result (TTR), which often is crucial in clinical
microbiology. It also enables higher throughput during peak demand times
in the clinical microbiology laboratory, e.g. in the mornings.
The higher speed and lifetime make the new MBTsmart
more future-proof by providing the higher throughput that
will be beneficial to implement additional workflows going forward. For
example, it facilitates additional research applications, like
sub-typing, or the emerging family of Bruker-proprietary Selective
Testing of Antibiotic Resistance (MBT-STAR)
assays, which use the MALDI Biotyper platform for functional
resistance testing of bacteria, initially for beta-lactamase activity.
High quality subtyping or MBT-STAR assays, with QC comparisons,
are expected to require approximately an order of magnitude more laser
shots than identification.
The MALDI Biotypersmart is
also equipped with a higher performance vacuum system. This enables
flexible and convenient workflows in laboratories where multiple users
are working on the same instrument, and have the need to exchange MALDI
target plates with a minimum delay. The modified design allows reaching
high vacuum faster after preventive maintenance or service, thus even
further increasing instrument availability.
Dr. Edwin Boel, Consultant Microbiologist at University Medical Center
Utrecht, The Netherlands, explained: “We have been using the MALDI
Biotyper system for microbial identification in our routine
laboratory for years. But we also envision additional workflows like
direct analysis from positive blood cultures, and MALDI Biotyper-based
selective testing of antibiotic resistance. Even nucleic acid analysis
on MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry might become of interest for the
microbiology laboratory in the future. In summary, we are convinced that
MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry will have even broader impact on
microbiology laboratories in the future. The new MBTsmart
provides the hardware improvements to be future-proof for such new
workflows.”
Dr. Wolfgang Pusch, Executive Vice President for Clinical MALDI at
Bruker Daltonics, added: “Bruker is dedicated to innovation and workflow
improvements in clinical microbiology, in order to provide more and
better information with dramatically shorter TTRs and higher throughput
to infectious disease clinicians. This enables our customers to reduce
healthcare costs, improve antibiotic stewardship, and improve patient
comfort and outcomes. Since the introduction of the MALDI Biotyper,
Bruker has led the MALDI-revolution in microbial identification. With
the introduction of the MALDI Biotypersmart,
Bruker is now taking MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to the next level in
the microbiology laboratory. The MALDI Biotypersmart
system is a new high-end option for those customers who seek further
increases in throughput, convenience and flexibility in the laboratory.
Higher throughput, speed and laser lifetime facilitate additional
workflows for developing the MBT platform more and more into a
general microbiology workhorse for multiple diagnostic and analytical
tasks.”
About the Bruker MALDI Biotyper
The MALDI Biotyper family of systems enables molecular identification,
and taxonomical classification or de-replication 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 clinical
routine microbial identification, environmental and pharmaceutical
analysis, taxonomical research, food and consumer product safety and
quality control, as well as marine microbiology. In many European and
international laboratories the MALDI Biotyper has replaced classical
biochemical testing for bacterial identification in the past seven years
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, as the U.S.
FDA-cleared MALDI Biotyper CA System, or in an IVD-CE version according
to EU directive EC/98/79. The MALDI Biotyper also has medical device
registrations in numerous other countries. RUO versions of the MALDI
Biotyper even allow selected high-value antimicrobial resistance tests
in translational research.
About Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: 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.
Source: Bruker Corporation