Recent Applications of Ion Mobility Spectrometry in Diagnosis of Vaginal Infections

Vaginal infections (vaginosis) globally affect more than 15% of the female population of reproductive age. However, diagnosis of vaginosis and differentiating between the three common types: bacterial vaginosis (BV), vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), and trichomoniasis are challenging. Elevated levels of the biogenic amines, trimethylamine (TMA), putrescine, and cadaverine have been found in vaginal discharge fluid of women with vaginosis. Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is particularly suitable for measurement of amines even in complex biological matrices due to their high proton affinity and has been shown to be suitable for the diagnosis of vaginal infections. Recent developments that have increased the accuracy of the technique for diagnosis of BV and simplified sample introduction are described here.