SEPARATION OF CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID PROTEINS USING CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS - A POTENTIAL METHOD FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS

A method for the analysis of proteins in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using free solution capillary electrophoresis (FSCE) was developed, in which the adsorption of proteins to the fused silica capillary wall was virtually eliminated, FSCE was carried out on 30 randomly selected CSF samples. Good sensitivity and resolution was obtained with minimal baseline noise. These preliminary results clearly demonstrated the potential of FSCE to analyse proteins in CSF, both qualitatively and quantitatively more rapidly than has been possible hitherto. A total run time of approximately 30 min allowed between 20 to 25 peaks to be separated. Many peaks with long migration times were detected in CSF that appeared to be specific since they were not detectable in corresponding serum samples. The separation patterns for most of the CSF samples selected showed relatively similar patterns but there were often minor qualitative and quantitative differences. Four CSF samples showed patterns that were significantly different from the others, primarily in the peaks with long migration times, A larger clinical study is now being undertaken.