MALDI-ToF protein profiling as a potential rapid diagnostic platform for COVID-19

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates accurate, rapid, and non-invasive diagnostic methods for SARS-CoV-2 detection.
• Saliva is a preferred specimen over nasopharyngeal swabs for early COVID-19 diagnosis due to ease of collection.
• Existing diagnostic methods face limitations in speed, cost, and accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry as a rapid, inexpensive, and non-invasive diagnostic tool for COVID-19.
• To identify potential proteomic biomarkers in saliva for SARS-CoV-2 infection.
• To compare the performance of MALDI-ToF saliva analysis with RT-qPCR on nasopharyngeal swabs.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 60 human gargle saliva samples using MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry.
• Inclusion of standards (human serum immunoglobulins) and controls (pre-COVID-19 saliva, heat-inactivated SARS-CoV-2).
• Comparison of MALDI-ToF spectra with COVID-19 status and RT-qPCR results.

Main Results:

• Identification of five potential protein biomarker peaks showing high concordance with COVID-19 positive status.
• Achieved ≥90% agreement between MALDI-ToF saliva analysis and RT-qPCR for the studied cohort.
• Demonstrated the feasibility of analyzing saliva proteome and viral components in a single workflow.

Conclusions:

• MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry shows potential for developing a rapid, inexpensive, and non-invasive COVID-19 diagnostic assay.
• Saliva-based MALDI-ToF analysis offers a promising alternative for SARS-CoV-2 detection, especially in high-demand scenarios.
• The pilot study results support further development of this proteomic approach for clinical application.