Gas-liquid chromatographic profile of neutral and acidic metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid from newborns and infants.

A profile (chromatographic pattern) of the neutral and acidic metabolites present in cerebrospinal fluid from newborns and infants was obtained by gas-liquid chromatography. The metabolites are those extracted with ethyl acetate and diethyl ether. They are converted to trimethylsilyl ether derivatives, and chromatographed on a column containing 5% silicone OV-101 (methyl) packed on Chromosorb W. Several substances were tentatively identified from their methylene unit values. We established a control profile for infants, and compared profiles for infants and adults. Noteworthy qualitative and quantitative differences from the control were seen for cerebrospinal fluid from subjects with neurological disorders of infections. The technique may be of use in neurological diagnosis.