Influence of media on the differentiation of Staphylococcus spp. by volatile compounds
Staphylococcus aureus asymptomatically colonizes a third of the world ’s population, and it is an
opportunistic pathogen that can cause life threatening diseases. To diagnose S. aureus infections,
it is necessary to differentiate S. aureus from the ubiquitous human commensal Staphylococcus
epidermidis , which beneficially colonizes the skin of all humans. Efforts are underway to identify
volatile biomarkers for diagnosing S. aureus infections, but to date no studies have investigated
whether S. aureus and S. epidermidis can be reliably differentiated under a variety of growth
conditions. The overall goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of growth medium on the
ability to differentiate S. aureus and S. epidermidis based on their volatile profiles. We used
headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography
with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC ×GC-TOFMS) to...
Source: Journal of Breath Research - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Carrie L Jenkins and Heather D Bean Source Type: research