• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.887-896
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• 2019

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS)-based pathogen identification relies on the ribosomal protein spectra provided in the proprietary database. Although these mass spectra can discern various pathogens at species level, the spectra-based method still has limitations in identifying closely-related microbial species. In this study, to overcome the limits of the current MALDI-TOF MS identification method using ribosomal protein spectra, we applied MALDI-TOF MS of low-mass profiling to the identification of two genetically related Bacillus species, the food-borne pathogen Bacillus cereus, and the insect pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis. The mass spectra of small molecules from 17 type strains of two bacilli were compared to the morphological, biochemical, and genetic identification methods of pathogens. The specific mass peaks in the low-mass range (m/z 500-3,000) successfully identified various closely-related strains belonging to these two reference species. The intensity profiles of the MALDI-TOF mass spectra clearly revealed the differences between the two genetically-related species at strain level. We suggest that small molecules with low molecular weight, 714.2 and 906.5 m/z can be potential mass biomarkers used for reliable identification of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.477-482
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• 2011

The structural analysis of polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) and characterization of the hydrolytic degradation products after acid hydrolysis were performed using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Mass spectra of the PTT samples were analyzed using a self-calibration method as well as an internal calibration method with standard materials of known masses. PTT structures constituting the samples were determined from the analyses of the spectra, and their relative compositions were estimated. The MALDI-TOF mass spectra of the acid-hydrolyzed PTT sample showed three main series of oligomer products with different end groups in accordance with the hydrolysis schemes. From the spectra of both $Na^+$ and $K^+$ adducts, it was concluded that the PTT samples have higher affinity for $Na^+$ compared with $K^+$ and therefore show higher ionization efficiency with sodium ions when dithranol is used as a matrix. Two different wavelength laser beams ($\lambda$ = 337 nm and 355 nm) were tested and it was observed that the 355 nm beam was more efficient in obtaining the MALDI spectra of PTT using dithranol as a matrix under our experimental conditions.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.2354-2358
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• 2007

MALDI-TOF-MS technique was applied to obtain structural and compositional information of synthetic polyamides, Nylon6 and Nylon66. Mass spectra of both the original and the hydrolyzed polyamide samples were analyzed using the self calibration method as well as the internal calibration method with the standard materials of known masses. The MALDI-TOF mass spectra of Nylon6 samples showed the presence of protonated, sodiated, and potassiated ions that were assigned to cyclic and NH2/COOH terminated linear oligomers. From the MALDI-TOF mass spectra of Nylon66 samples, the potassiated linear oligomers with three different end groups are identified as well as the cyclic oligomers, i.e., NH2/COOH terminated oligomers, NH2/NH2 terminated oligomers, and COOH/COOH terminated oligomers. Full characterization of the molecular species and end groups present in the polyamide samples has been achieved, and also the changes in mass spectral patterns after the hydrolysis of the samples are presented.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.61-64
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• 2011

Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time-of-Flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) is the most widely used MS technique for glycan analysis. However, the poor point-to-point and sample-to-sample reproducibility becomes a limit in glycan biomarker research. A prespotted MALDI plate which overcomes the large crystal formation of 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) has been developed and applied for glycan analysis. A homogeneous matrix coated surface without a crystal structure was formed on a hydrophilic/ hydrophobic patterned surface using a piezoelectric device. The reproducible MALDI-TOF-MS data have been presented using MALDI imaging of beer glycan as well as serum glycan eluted from 10% and 20% ACN elution fractions. The glycan profile from the serum glycan by MALDI-TOF-MS with a DHB prespotted plate was highly conserved for 10 different spectra and the coefficient of variations of significant ion peaks of MALDI data varies from 3.59 to 19.95.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.548-557
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• 2019

Staphylococcus species have a ubiquitous habitat in a wide range of foods, thus the ability to identify staphylococci at the species level is critical in the food industry. In this study, we performed rapid identification of Staphylococcus species using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). MALDI-TOF MS was evaluated for the identification of Staphylococcus reference strains (n = 19) and isolates (n = 96) from various foods with consideration for the impact of sample preparation methods and incubation period. Additionally, the spectra of isolated Staphylococcus strains were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and a main spectra profile (MSP)-based dendrogram. MALDI-TOF MS accurately identified Staphylococcus reference strains and isolated strains: the highest performance was by the EX method (83.3~89.5% accuracy) at species level identification (EDT, 70.3~78.9% accuracy; DT, less than 46.3~63.2% accuracy) of 24-h cultured colonies. Identification results at the genus level were 100% accurate at EDT, EX sample preparation and 24-h incubation time. On the other hand, the DT method showed relatively low identification accuracy in all extraction methods and incubation times. The analyzed spectra and MSP-based dendrogram showed that the isolated Staphylococcus strains were characterized at the species level. The performance analysis of MALDI-TOF MS shows the method has the potential ability to discriminate between Staphylococcus species from foods in Korea. This study provides valuable information that MALDI-TOF MS can be applied to monitor microbial populations and pathogenic bacteria in the food industry thereby contributing to food safety.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.2359-2362
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• 2007

MALDI-TOF-MS technique was applied to obtain structural and compositional information of synthetic polyamides, Nylon6 and Nylon66. Mass spectra of both the original and the hydrolyzed polyamide samples were analyzed using the self calibration method as well as the internal calibration method with the standard materials of known masses. The MALDI-TOF mass spectra of Nylon6 samples showed the presence of protonated, sodiated, and potassiated ions that were assigned to cyclic and NH2/COOH terminated linear oligomers. From the MALDI-TOF mass spectra of Nylon66 samples, the potassiated linear oligomers with three different end groups are identified as well as the cyclic oligomers, i.e., NH2/COOH terminated oligomers, NH2/NH2 terminated oligomers, and COOH/COOH terminated oligomers. Full characterization of the molecular species and end groups present in the polyamide samples has been achieved, and also the changes in mass spectral patterns after the hydrolysis of the samples are presented.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.833-838
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• 2012

The thermal degradation products of polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) obtained by heating the sample in the temperature range of $250-360^{\circ}C$ under non-oxidative conditions was characterized using MALDI-TOF (matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization) mass spectrometry. The structures of the degradation products were determined and the relative compositions were estimated. The MALDI-TOF mass spectra of the thermally degraded PTT sample showed three main series of oligomer products with different end groups, which were carboxyl/carboxyl, carboxyl/allyl, and allyl/allyl. In contrast to the thermal degradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the oligomers containing terephthalic anhydrides were not detected, whereas the formation of oligomers containing the unsaturated allyl ester group was confirmed by mass assignment. From these results, it was concluded that the thermal degradation of PTT proceeds exclusively through the ${\beta}$-CH hydrogen transfer mechanism, which is in accordance with the proposed reaction mechanism for the thermal degradation of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT).

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.110-114
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• 2014

The method of direct mass spectrometry profiling is reliable and reproducible for the rapid identification of clinical isolates of bacteria and fungi. This is the first study evaluating the approach of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry profiling for rapid identification of carbapenemase-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE). Proof of concept was achieved by the discrimination of CRE using MALDI Biotyper MS based on the protein. This profiling appears promising by the visual observation of consistent unique peaks, albeit low intensity, that could be picked up from the mean spectra (MSP) method. The Biotyper MSP creation and identification methods needed to be optimized to provide significantly improved differences in scores to allow for subspecies identification with and without carbapenemases. These spectra were subjected to visual peak picking and in all cases; there were pertinent differences in the presence or absence of potential biomarker peaks to differentiate isolates. We also evaluated this method for potential discrimination between different carbapenemases bacteria, utilizing the same strategy. Based on our data and pending further investigation in other CREs, MALDI-TOF MS has potential as a diagnostic tool for the rapid identification of even closely related carbapenemases but would require a paradigm shift in which Biotyper suppliers enable more flexible software control of mass spectral profiling methods.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.83-86
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• 2001

Structural analyses of oligosaccharide-malononitrile derivatives were conducted by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization post-source decay (MALDI-PSD) analysis in positive ion mode. The malononitrile derivatives of oligosaccharides, which were developed for highly sensitive detection of multi-component oligosaccharides by negative ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS), were detected by positive-ion MALDI with the detection limit of 2 pmol level from the crude derivatization sample. The used matrix affected drastically the analytical results of oligosaccharide-malononitrile derivative by matrix-assisted laser desoprtion/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS). The malononitrile derivatization of oligosaccharide also affect the patterns of MALDI-PSD spectra and give much more structural information than the free oligosaccharide.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.2635-2639
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• 2013

The rapid and accurate identification of biological agents is a critical step in the case of bio-terror and biological warfare attacks. Recently, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry has been widely used for the identification of microorganisms. In this study, we describe a method for the rapid and accurate discrimination of Bacillus anthracis spores using MALDI-TOF MS. Our direct in-situ analysis of MALDI-TOF MS does not involve subsequent high-resolution mass analyses and sample preparation steps. This method allowed the detection of species-specific biomarkers from each Bacillus spores. Especially, B. anthracis spores had specific biomarker peaks at 2503, 3089, 3376, 6684, 6698, 6753, and 6840 m/z. Cluster and PCA analyses of the mass spectra of Bacillus spores revealed distinctively separated clusters and within-groups similarity. Therefore, we believe that this method is effective in the real-time identification of biological warfare agents such as B. anthracis as well as other microorganisms in the field.