Objective The objective of this study was to develop an ultraviolet high-performance liquid chromatography (UV-HPLC) method for the measurement of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as a potential biomarker for neurological and psychiatric illnesses, including depressive disorders with suicidal behavior.

Methods The study utilized CSF samples from individuals brought for medicolegal autopsy. The 5-HIAA concentration was measured using a UV-HPLC method with three mobile-phase solvents. The most effective mobile phase solvent was then used to measure 5-HIAA in the CSF samples.

Materials The materials used in the study included CSF samples obtained from individuals brought for medico-legal autopsy, UV-HPLC equipment, and mobile phase solvents, including 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (Merck/sigma), acetonitrile, concentrated formic acid, concentrated acetic acid, methanol, and phosphoric acid.

Statistical Analysis This was done using R Studio (version 4.2.0).

Results The study found that the UV-HPLC method utilizing formic acid (0.05–0.1%): acetonitrile in a 1:9 as mobile phase was the most effective for measuring 5-HIAA in human CSF. The method exhibited excellent linearity, accuracy, and precision.

Conclusion The study concludes that the developed UV-HPLC method is reliable and effective for measuring 5-HIAA in human CSF. Measuring 5-HIAA levels in CSF can serve as a potential biomarker for neurological and psychiatric illnesses, including depressive disorders with suicidal behavior. This method is promising for clinical and forensic practice to diagnose suicidal cases. Further research is needed to determine the clinical significance of these findings and the potential for broader application in psychiatry. This article helps to give a practical, cost-effective methodology to detect CSF 5-HIAA.

D.B. helped in inception of idea and carrying out the work and manuscript preparation. J.Y. was responsible for inception of idea, guidance, and supervision and writing of the manuscript. A.A. helped in supervision and facilitation for work and editing of the manuscript and carrying out the laboratory work and analyzing data. D.A. was involved in guidance and supervision in analyzing the data.

The study was approved by Institutional human ethics committee of AIIMS Bhopal vide LOP letter no 2020/PG/Jan/09 dated Nov 21, 2020.

Received: 14 March 2023

Accepted: 01 August 2023

Article published online:
05 September 2023

© 2023. The Indian Association of Laboratory Physicians. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India