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Updated: Jun 13, 2026
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Untargeted Metabolomics from Biological Sources Using Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS)
Published on: May 20, 2013
Untargeted and Targeted Cerebrospinal Fluid Neurometabolomics via Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry-Based Methods
1Federal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology, Petrovka Str. 25-2, 107031 Moscow, Russia.
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 12, 2026
Summary
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metabolomics uses advanced mass spectrometry to identify disease signatures. This review focuses on methods for diagnosing neurological disorders using these metabolic biomarkers.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biochemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Neurological and psychiatric disorders pose a significant global health challenge, necessitating advanced diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a critical biofluid for studying the central nervous system (CNS) due to its direct biochemical link with brain tissue.
- Current understanding of brain function at molecular, cellular, and systems levels remains incomplete, driving the need for novel investigative tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current chromatography-mass spectrometry (CMS)-based methods for untargeted and targeted cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metabolomics.
- To emphasize the analytical performance, reproducibility, and limitations of these CSF metabolomic techniques.
- To highlight the importance of method standardization, validation, and the identification of reliable metabolic biomarkers for neurological disease diagnosis and monitoring.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on chromatography-mass spectrometry (CMS) techniques applied to CSF metabolomics.
- Analysis of untargeted and targeted metabolomic approaches for comprehensive small-molecule metabolite profiling.
- Evaluation of analytical performance, reproducibility, and limitations of existing CSF metabolomic methods.
Main Results:
- Recent advances in mass spectrometry have significantly enhanced neurometabolomics, enabling the identification of disease-associated metabolic signatures in CSF.
- Various CMS methods are available for both untargeted and targeted CSF metabolomics, each with specific analytical characteristics.
- Standardization and validation of methods are crucial for the reliable identification of metabolic biomarkers.
Conclusions:
- CSF metabolomics, particularly using advanced CMS techniques, offers a powerful approach for understanding CNS pathology.
- Standardized and validated metabolomic methods are essential for discovering reliable biomarkers for diagnosing and monitoring neurological disorders.
- This field holds significant promise for improving diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for a range of neurodegenerative, psychiatric, oncological, and neuroinflammatory diseases.
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