Viral identification by MALDI-TOF from cell cultures. Application of an in-house library for detection of SARS-CoV-2 and other virus of clinical interest.

Abstract As the COVID-19 pandemic has not a clear end in the horizon, even with the good ratios of vaccination and least severity of new variants as Omicron, developing a wide range of viral detection techniques is important to ease pressure on diagnostic labs. Well stablished from long ago for bacterial and fungal detection, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time Of Flight (MALDI-TOF) technique is not so well stablished in the virology field, and taking care of its advantages (speed, precision and low cost), this can be a powerful method for viral identification. With this aim, this study exposes the sensitivity and specificity of an in-house library developed in this system when is used for identification of different viral cultures of Herpes Simplex Virus, Adenovirus and SARS-CoV-2.