A rapid and sensitive (100%) matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization؊time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) assay was developed to detect OXA-48-type producers, using 161 previously characterized clinical isolates. Ertapenem was monitored to detect carbapenem resistance, and temocillin was included in the assay as a marker for OXA-48-producers. Structural analysis of temocillin is described. Data are obtained within 60 min.
Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) are increasingly being isolated worldwide. As these bacteria are difficult to detect and control, their spread is considered a public health concern (1, 2). Dissemination of the group D carbapenemases, particularly, bla OXA-48 isolates, is of major concern (3-5). These isolates are characterized by low carbapenem MICs and often go undetected by most phenotypic methods.The development of mass spectrometry techniques, such as matrix-assisted laser desorption ionizationϪtime of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), has yielded sensitivity with faster turnaround times (6-10). The aim of this study was to determine whether a MALDI-TOF MS ertapenem assay can be used to identify and classify CPE producers, with particular emphasis on OXA-48-type isolates. We propose the use of temocillin as a resistance marker for OXA-48-type enzymes (11), as isolates harboring these types of carbapenemases show very high levels of resistance to temocillin (12, 13), and there is no specific inhibitor for group D carbapenemases. Phenylboronic acid (PBA) and dipicolinic acid (DPA) are used as inhibitors of, respectively, group A and B carbapenemases.A total of 161 characterized nonrepeat Enterobacteriaceae isolates, 117 of which carried a carbapenemase enzyme, were tested (Table 1). Seventy-two of the 161 isolates were genotypically characterized by the Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Program of the Spanish National Center of Microbiology (14) All isolates were analyzed by the disk diffusion method (KPC/ MBL and OXA-48 confirm kit; Rosco Diagnostica A/S, Taastrup, Denmark) with disks containing meropenem (10 g), meropenem plus PBA, meropenem plus DPA, meropenem plus cloxacillin (CL), and temocillin (30 g). A 0.5-McFarland suspension of the isolates on Mueller-Hinton II agar plates (Becton Dickinson, USA) was used, followed by an overnight incubation of the plates at 37°C. The susceptibility cutoff used for temocillin was Ͻ12 mm (12).For the MALDI-TOF MS assay, isolates were previously grown overnight at 37°C in Trypticase soy agar with 5% sheep blood (TSA II) (Becton Dickinson). The hydrolysis of ertapenem (0.5 mg/ml Invaz [Merck & Co., Inc.], 0.001% SDS, 50 mM NH 4 HCO 3 [pH 7.0]) (6, 9) and temocillin (1.5 mg/ml Negaban [Eumedica], 0,001% SDS, 50 mM NH 4 HCO 3 [pH 7.0]) (9) was evaluated after resuspension of the bacteria that filled a 1-l inoculation loop in 10 l of the antibiotic solution in an Eppendorf tube and incubation of the suspension at 37°C under agitation. When inhibitors were used, bacteria were resuspended in 5 l of ertapenem (1 mg/ml ...