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Determination of microbial chemical markers by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry ‐ potential for diagnosis and studies on metabolism in situ
Author(s) -
Larsson LENNART
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
apmis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0903-4641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1994.tb04861.x
Subject(s) - muramic acid , gas chromatography , mass spectrometry , gas chromatography–mass spectrometry , microbial metabolism , chromatography , chemistry , ergosterol , peptidoglycan , bacteria , biochemistry , biology , environmental chemistry , cell wall , genetics
Different strategies for the application of gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) in medical microbiology research are discussed. GC can be used to determine specific microbial monomeric constituents and metabolites, so‐called chemical markers, in cultures of microorganisms; in particular, analysis of cellular fatty acids has proven useful for species characterization and identification. GC‐MS can be applied to study chemical markers directly in complex environmental samples, as exemplified by the analysis of airborne organic material as regards muramic acid (marker of peptidoglycan), 3‐hydroxy acids (endotoxins), and ergosterol (fungal biomass). This methodological approach represents an alternative to various biological assays for characterization of airborne microbial structures, and forms a firm basis for correlating inhalation of such structures and development of symptoms. Direct GC‐MS analysis of clinical samples provides possibilities for diagnosis (here exemplified by chiral separation of urine D‐ and L‐arabinitol in disseminated candidiasis) and insight into microbial metabolism in the infected host (exemplified by observed indications of mycobacterial build‐up of mycolic acids in vivo) , with implications for drug development. Continued developments in MS technology will allow rapid advances to be made in GC‐MS research in microbiology.