Abstract
An article in this issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology (J.-H. Youn, S. K. Drake, R. A. Weingarten, K. M. Frank, J. P. Dekker, and A. F. Lau, J Clin Microbiol 53:35-42, 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01643-15) describes the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry for the detection of organisms carrying a blaKPC-containing plasmid. This powerful and promising application highlights the challenges of using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for purposes other than organism identification.