Table 3.
A summary of the advantages and limitations of potential non-molecular methods for the identification and profiling of bacteria in milk
| Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) | Advantages: Highly specific; it can be used to identify bacteria that are difficult to culture; it is not sensitive to alterations in the growth protocol of microorganisms. |
| Limitations: It is expensive to run; the accuracy of detection can be affected by the cultivation time of the bacteria to be analysed. | |
| Raman Spectroscopy | Advantages: Highly reproducible; high discriminatory power similar to that of PFGE. |
| Limitations: The existence of backgrounds bacteria cells, yeast cells and other organic and inorganic particles of the same size can hamper the detection andidentification of the targeted bacteria. |