Human sports drug testing by mass spectrometry

Abstract

Since the installation of anti-doping rules and regulations and their international enforcement in the mid-1960s, mass spectrometry has been an integral part of doping control procedures. Although its utility was limited in the first decade, instrumental improvements and method optimizations have made mass spectrometry, in all its facets, an indispensable tool in modern sports drug testing. In this review, milestones in doping control analysis accomplished in Germany and reaching from the early developments to the current use of hyphenated mass spectrometric techniques concerning low- and high molecular mass analytes are presented. The considered drug classes include anabolic agents, peptidic drugs, nucleotide-derived therapeutics, approved and non-approved organic as well as inorganic analytes, and particular focus is put on drug class- and instrument-driven strategies. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 36:16-46, 2017.

Multianalyte LC–MS-Based Methods in Doping Control: What are The Implications for Doping Athletes?

“…Nano-LC coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometers was then preferred, due to sensitivity and selectivity issues [4,9,14]. Different procedures were initially developed to detect insulin and its analogs, the corticotrophin synacthen (ACTH 1-24), the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH, gonadorelin), desmopressin and its analogs, and the entire class of GHRPs using low-resolution mass spectrometers and μLC techniques.…”

“…This is possible by reprocessing the data files without the need of reanalyzing the samples [3][4][5][6]. To also detect potentially unknown targets, high-resolution mass spectrometers operating in fullscan mode can be used for the detection of a virtually unlimited range of known and unknown substances.…”

“…In the 1980s, GC-MS became the reference analytical platform for the detection and quantification of the majority of the low molecular weight doping substances [3][4][5][6]. Historically, immunological methods and GC-based techniques were applied in antidoping science, as preferential screening methods for the detection of prohibited substances, which were originally limited to nonendogenous stimulants and narcotics.…”

Simplifying and expanding the screening for peptides <2 kDa by direct urine injection, liquid chromatography, and ion mobility mass spectrometry

“…Mass spectrometric identification of prohibited and performance-enhancing drugs after chromatographic separation is the dominant strategy in modern sports drug testing [1]. Hereby the crucial low detection limits, the heterogeneity of the matrix (mainly urine) and the ongoing development of new target compounds represent the major challenges [2].…”

High-resolution mass spectrometry in toxicology: current status and future perspectives

“…Papers dealing with doping analyses will not be mentioned here as corresponding review articles are regularly published elsewhere, e.g., (Schanzer and Thevis 2015;van den Broek et al 2015;Thevis et al 2016). …”