title: Application of fast gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for the rapid screening of synthetic anabolic steroids and other drugs in anti-doping analysis.
abstract: This paper describes a fast gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric (GC/MS) screening method for the detection, in urine, of 36 xenobiotics (30 synthetic anabolic steroids, four narcotics, one diuretic and one stimulant) excreted free or as glucuro-conjugates in urine and detectable as trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives. These drugs (and/or their urinary metabolites) can be simultaneously extracted by a single liquid/liquid separation step, at alkaline pH, after enzymatic hydrolysis with beta-glucuronidase and then assayed as TMS derivatives by GC/MS using electron ionisation (EI) and single ion monitoring (SIM) acquisition mode. The total time needed for the GC run is less than 8 min. Good reproducibility of the retention times (CV% <1) and the relative abundances of the diagnostic fragment ions (CV% <10) was observed for all target analytes. The sensitivity of the method is sufficient to match the requirements of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for the accredited laboratories, with limits of detection (LODs) that are lower than the corresponding WADA minimum required performance limits (MRPLs) for all target compounds.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Antidoping, Federazione Medico Sportiva Italiana, Largo Giulio Onesti 1, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mazzarino
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orengia
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Botrè
mesh_terms: D045930:Anabolic Agents / Q000652:urine*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods*; D004300:Doping in Sports; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D013256:Steroids / Q000652:urine; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D015262:Xenobiotics / Q000652:urine*
chemical_list: D045930:Anabolic Agents; D013256:Steroids; D015262:Xenobiotics