This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/bmc.4969 This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Pautova Alisa K. (Orcid ID: 0000-0001-6470-0485) Metabolic profiling of aromatic compounds in cerebrospinal fluid of neurosurgical patients using microextraction by packed sorbent and liquid-liquid extraction with the following gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis Alisa K. Pautova *1 , Zoya B. Khesina 2 , Tatiana N. Litvinova 1 , Alexander I. Revelsky 3 , Natalia V. Beloborodova 1 1 Laboratory of Human Metabolism in Critical States, Negovsky Research Institute of General Reanimatology, Federal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology, Petrovka str., 25-2, 107031, Moscow, Russia 2 A.N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, GSP-1, Leninsky Prospect, 31, 119071, Moscow, Russia 3 Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry, Chemistry Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie gory, 1-3, 119991, Moscow, Russia *Corresponding author: alicepau@mail.ru, Tel.: +79057738981 Address: Petrovka str., 25-2, 107031, Moscow, Russia Abbreviations: BA – benzoic acid BSTFA – N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide CNS – central nervous system CSF – cerebrospinal fluid HVA – homovanillic acid ICU – intensive care unit LLE – liquid-liquid extraction MEPS – microextraction by packed sorbent p-HBA – 4-hydroxybenzoic acid PhPA – 3-phenylpropionic acid PhLA – 3-phenyllactic acid p-HPhAA – 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)acetic acid p-HPhLA – 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)lactic acid