Patent ID: 8580535

Claim:
A method for determining the resistance of microbes to a specific antibiotic, comprising: (a) cultivating a first quantity of the microbes in a nutrient medium containing the antibiotic; (b) cultivating a second quantity of the microbes using the same nutrient medium and cultivation conditions used in step (a) except that the nutrient medium does not contain the antibiotic; (c) preparing a first sample from the microbes cultivated in step (a) using whole microbes or proteins extracted from the microbes; (d) preparing a second sample from the microbes cultivated in step (b) using whole microbes or proteins extracted from the microbes; (e) measuring a first mass spectrum of the first sample that is indicative of the soluble proteins of the microbes cultivated in step (a); (f) measuring a second mass spectrum of the second sample that is indicative of the soluble proteins of the microbes cultivated in step (b); (g) comparing the first and second mass spectra; and (h) determining the resistance of the microbes based on the comparison of step (g), wherein similarity of the spectra indicates resistance.