title: Sports drug testing using immuno-MS: clinical study comprising administration of human chorionic gonadotropin to males.
abstract: The applicability of a mass spectrometry (MS)-based method for determination of various forms of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in doping analysis was demonstrated. A clinical study involving the hCG-containing pharmaceuticals Pregnyl and Ovitrelle was carried out, comprising a single injection of one pharmaceutical per participant to a total of 24 healthy male voluntaries. Hereafter, serum and urine samples were collected over a period of 14 days. The analysis of the samples using immuno-MS demonstrated elimination profiles of intact hCG for both pharmaceuticals, with last day of detection following administration at day 7 in serum, and at day 10 in urine, at limit of detections as defined by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Furthermore, the method allowed detection and differentiation of the various forms of hCG known to be present in serum and urine as a function of metabolism. For both pharmaceuticals, only the intact hCG was detected in serum, whereas in urine the injection of Pregnyl as hCG source (containing urinary hCG, i.e., most hCG variants) was shown to generate a more complex hCG variant pattern compared to Ovitrelle (contains only intact hCG). By detecting hCG using this MS-based approach in doping analysis, strong analytical evidence is provided minimizing the risk of false-positive and false-negative results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Hanne
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lund
authors.forename: Ann Helene
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Snilsberg
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Paus
authors.forename: Trine Grønhaug
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Halvorsen
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hemmersbach
authors.forename: Léon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reubsaet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin