Within less than a decade matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has become a gold standard for microbial identification in clinical microbiology laboratories. Besides identification of microorganisms the typing of single strains as well as the antibiotic and antimycotic resistance testing has come into focus in order to speed up the microbiological diagnostic. However, the full potential of MALDI-TOF MS has not been tapped yet and future technological advancements will certainly expedite this method towards novel applications and enhancement of current practice. So, the following chapter shall be rather a brainstorming and forecast of how MALDI-TOF MS will develop to influence clinical diagnostics and microbial research in the future. It shall open up the stage for further discussions and does not claim for overall validity.

中文翻译：

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微生物实验室中的 MALDI-TOF MS：当前趋势。

在不到十年的时间里，基质辅助激光解吸/电离飞行时间质谱 (MALDI-TOF MS) 已成为临床微生物实验室微生物鉴定的金标准。除了微生物鉴定外，为了加快微生物诊断，单一菌株的分型以及抗生素和抗真菌剂的耐药性测试也成为重点。然而，MALDI-TOF MS 的全部潜力尚未被挖掘出来，未来的技术进步肯定会加速这种方法走向新的应用和增强当前的实践。因此，下一章应该是对 MALDI-TOF MS 将如何发展以影响未来临床诊断和微生物研究的头脑风暴和预测。