Performance evaluation of the COPAN Colibrí™ instrument for automated identification using the bruker MALDI-TOF...

The Copan Colibrí™ is FDA approved for preparing MALDI-TOF target plates to identify bacteria and yeast, and for making bacterial suspensions for AST. This study evaluated its performance in automating identification and AST of clinical isolates after 16 hours of incubation. Colibrí™ accuracy was evaluated in preparing MALDI-TOF target plates for Bruker MALDI Biotyper® (SMART and SIRIUS) identification, compared to manual method, using retrospective clinical isolates and primary cultures from urine and wound samples. Colibrí™ accuracy in preparing bacterial suspensions for VITEK®2 AST was compared with manual methods, assessing both 1 mL and 3 mL tube secondary tube outputs. Colibrí™ and manual identification methods showed positive percent agreement of 96% (SMART) and 99% (SIRIUS) for pure cultures, and 97.6% (SMART) and 100% (SIRIUS) for clinical primary cultures. For Vitek®2 AST-GN391, overall categorical agreement rates were: 1 mL tube (97.2% BAP, 96.9% UCHROM) and 3 mL tube (97.3% BAP, 98.7% UCHROM). No very major errors occurred; one major error was found with cefixime in the 1 mL tube. For Vitek®2 AST-GP75, overall categorical agreement (CA) rates were: 1 mL tube-99.4% (BAP), 99.3% (UCHROM), 100% (CNA); 3 mL tube-100% for all media. One very major error occurred (inducible clindamycin, 1 mL tube), with no major errors detected. The Colibrí™ instrument performed well for Bruker MALDI-TOF identification and VITEK®2 AST with 16-hour cultures. Its automation streamlines lab workflow by minimizing manual steps. A noted challenge was that the instrument could not prepare AST suspensions for certain Enterococcus strains with small colonies.