The detection and discrimination of bacteria using a Volatile Atmospheric Chemical Ionisation Source (vAPCI)

Bacteria can be benign, beneficial and harmful, for more than 70 years we have been combatting these microscopic creatures with antibiotics. Increasingly though strains of antimicrobial resistant bacteria are becoming commonplace. This has motivated numerous studies aimed at deciphering the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are ubiquitous in nature and are produced through various metabolic and catabolic processes. The profile of bacterial VOCs could therefore offer an insight into the detection of the type of bacteria and how they grow. This research utilizes a Volatile Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization (vAPCI) source coupled to a Advion CMS instrument for detection of bacterial VOCs from in-vitro samples. This rapid and non-invasive approach of sampling VOCs and the implementation of a metabolomics workflow discriminates between E.coli and staphylococcus aureus and demonstrates how bacterial profiles can change over time.