Bacterial analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry has been demonstrated in numerous laboratories, and a few attempts have been made to compare results from different laboratories on the same organism. It has been difficult to understand the causes behind the observed differences between laboratories when different instruments, matrices, solvents, etc. are used. In order to establish this technique as a useful tool for bacterial identification, additional efforts in standardizing the methods by which MALDI mass spectra are obtained and comparisons of spectra from different instruments with different operators are needed. Presented here is an extension of our previous single-laboratory reproducibility study with three different laboratories in a controlled experiment with aliquots of the same bacterial culture, matrix stock solution, and calibrant standards. Using automated spectral collection of whole-cell bacteria and automated data processing and analysis algorithms, fingerprints from three different laboratories were constructed and compared. Nine of the ions appeared reproducibly within all three laboratories, with additional unique ions observed within each of the laboratories. An initial evaluation of the ability to use a fingerprint generated within one laboratory for bacterial identification of a sample from another laboratory is presented, and strategies for improving identification rates between laboratories is discussed. has been used to analyze intact, cultured microorganisms with minimal sample handling. Two recent review articles, which include the capabilities and current limitations that need to be addressed, provide an excellent overview of this emerging research field [1,2]. The MALDI-TOF MS technique for identifying biomolecules provides rapid analysis time (Ͻ1 min per sample analysis), low sample-volume requirements (Ͻ1 L fluid), and the highly selective nature of mass-spectrometric analysis based on relative molecular masses. The m/z values for mass spectral peaks and the patterns with which they are observed provide very specific and unbiased analysis, as they indicate molecular weights of true components of the sample. Bacterial cells have been identified by comparing MALDI-TOF spectra obtained from cultured bacterial cells and simple microbial mixtures against a library of known MALDI-TOF spectral fingerprints obtained from intact bacterial cells [3,4] or from comparison with masses predicted from a proteomic database [5,6]. The proteomic approach has been demonstrated to correctly identify bacteria from spectra originating at different laboratories [5], however, this approach is currently suffering from an incomplete protein database for many of the organisms that are of interest. As the proteomic database becomes more populated with organisms of concern, this approach will become more feasible for bacterial identification, at

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Far infrared spectra of 14 commonly used explosive samples have been measured by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and THz Time-Domain Spectroscopy (THz TDS). New absorption resonances between 20 cm -1 and 650 cm -1 are reported. Below 20 cm -1 , no clear absorption resonances are observed in all the explosives. There is a good consistency of far-IR spectrum measured by Far-FTIR and by THz TDS in explosives 3,5-DNA and 2,4-DNT. Observed far-IR spectrum of TNT is compared with a previously reported theoretical calculation.

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