System for rapid identification and/or characterization of a microbial agent in a sample

An automated identification instrument for rapid identification of a microbial agent present in a sample, comprising:

• a supply of disposable separation devices;
• a holding structure for holding a plurality of specimen containers, each containing a specimen sample to be identified;
• a robotic transfer mechanism;
• a sample removal apparatus coupled to the robotic transfer mechanism operative to remove a test sample from the specimen container and load the test sample into one of the separation devices;
• a separation and concentration station operative on the separation device after receiving the test sample so as to separate the microbial agent from other products that may be present in the test sample and concentrate the microbial agent within the separation device, wherein the microbial agent is concentrated into a pellet;
• and
• an identification module configured to interrogate the concentrated microbial agent pellet by producing an excitation-emission matrix (EEM), wherein said interrogation comprises intrinsic fluorescence measured in front face mode, the module further including a computer programmed to identify the microbial agent to the genus, species, and/or strain level from intrinsic fluorescence data obtained from the interrogation of the concentrated pellet.