Quantification of endocannabinoids in human cerebrospinal fluid using a novel micro-flow liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method

Abstract

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is implicated in various brain disorders. Changes in the composition of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) may be associated with ECS-related pathologies. Endocannabinoids (eCBs) and their analogues are present at low concentrations in human CSF, which hampered the investigation of the ECS in this body fluid. In this study, we developed a highly sensitive and selective micro-flow liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (micro-LC-MS/MS) method for the analysis of eCBs and eCB analogues in human CSF. The developed method allowed for the quantitative analysis of 16 eCBs and their analogues in human CSF. Micro-LC-MS/MS analyses were performed at a flow-rate of 4 μL min−1 with a 0.3-mm inner diameter column. A minor modification of a novel spray needle was carried out to improve the robustness of our method. By using an injection volume of 3 μL, our method reached limits of detection in the range from 0.6 to 1293.4 pM and limits of quantification in range from 2.0 to 4311.3 pM while intra- and interday precisions were below 13.7%. The developed workflow was successfully used for the determination of eCBs in 288 human CSF samples. It is anticipated that the proposed approach will contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of ECS in various brain disorders.