Discrimination of Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, and Shigella sonnei using lipid profiling by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry paired with machine learning.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has become a staple in clinical microbiology laboratories. Protein-profiling of bacteria using this technique has accelerated the identification of pathogens in diagnostic workflows. Recently, lipid profiling has emerged as a way to complement bacterial identification where protein-based methods fail to provide accurate results.