Confirming testosterone administration by isotope ratio mass spectrometric analysis of urinary androstanediols

Characterization of exogenous testosterone in livestock by gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry: influence of feeding and age

The detection of exogenous testosterone in bovine urine was investigated by using gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS). The carbon isotopic ratio measurement of epitestosterone, etiocholanolone (testosterone metabolite) and DHEA (testosterone precursor) in female bovine urines after testosterone enanthate administration was carried out. An important modification in the 13C/12C ratio of testosterone metabolites was observed, such that significant differences between precursor and metabolites of testosterone occurred until three weeks after intramuscular administration of testosterone enanthate. The factors influencing the 13C/12C of endogenous steroids were studied especially through cattle feeding and age. The DHEA mean delta13C value was found to vary between -25 and -26/1000 when hay and concentrate diet were used for fattening. On the other hand the delta13C value observed when maize silage was used increased to -20/1000. Testosterone metabolites showed the same delta13C increase as their precursor. Moreover, we observed a clear relationship between age and efficiency of misuse determination. Indeed, because of the lower concentration of natural hormones in young animals, the contribution of exogenous molecules increases significantly compared with older subjects. Consequently, demonstration of administration is easier to achieve in calves than in mature animals.

A rapid screening assay for measuring urinary androsterone and etiocholanolone delta(13)C ( per thousand) values by gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry

A gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) method is described and validated for measurement of delta(13)C values of the acetate derivatives of urinary etiocholanolone and androsterone. The analysis was performed with only 2 mL of urine. The sample preparation consisted of deconjugation with beta-glucuronidase, solid phase extraction, and derivatization with acetic anhydride and pyridine. The within-assay precision of two quality control (QC) urine samples ranged from 0.5 to 2.1 CV%. The between-assay precision in the same QC urines ranged from 1.7 to 3.4 CV%. Administration of testosterone enanthate to a subject resulted in a 6 per thousand decrease in delta(13)C values from -25 per thousand (baseline) to -31 per thousand. Two weeks after testosterone administration was discontinued, the delta(13)C values remained abnormally low while the urine testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio returned to less than 6. This relatively simple method is useful for rapidly screening a large number of urine samples, including those with T/E <6.

Detection of exogenous intake of natural corticosteroids by gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry: application to misuse in sport

A detailed procedure for the analysis of exogenous hydrocortisone and cortisone in urine by gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) is proposed. As urinary levels of hydrocortisone are rather low for GC/C/IRMS analysis, the focus is on the main corticosteroid metabolites, tetrahydrocortisone (THE) and tetrahydrocortisol (THF). Following different solid phase extraction purifications, THE and THF are oxidized to 5beta-androstanetrione before analysis by GC/C/IRMS. Significant differences in delta(13)C per thousand values of synthetic natural corticosteroids and endogenous human corticosteroids have been observed. Therefore, a positive criterion, to detect exogenous administration of synthetic corticosteroids in anti-doping control, is proposed.

Introduction to the application of capillary gas chromatography of performance-enhancing drugs in doping control

Performance-enhancing drugs banned by antidoping rules are detected in doping control preferably by hyphenated chromatographic techniques, capillary gas chromatography in particular. Based on the prohibited classes of substances and on the general aspects of sample collection and preparation, a survey is given about the usual procedures of screening, identification and confirmation of the most important doping agents: stimulants, narcotics, anabolics, diuretics, beta-blockers. In addition to gas chromatography itself, the application of various MS techniques doping is outlined.

Clinical applications of gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of steroids

This review article underlines the importance of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for determination of steroids in man. The use of steroids labelled with stable isotopes as internal standard and subsequent analysis by GC-MS yields up to now the only reliable measurement of steroids in serum. Isotope dilution GC-MS is the reference method for evaluation of routine analysis of serum steroid hormones. GC-MS is an important tool for detection of steroid hormone doping and combined with a combustion furnace and an isotope ratio mass spectrometer the misuse of testosterone by athletes can be discovered. Finally the so called urinary steroid profile by GC and GC-MS is the method of choice for detection of steroid metabolites in health and disease.

Applied gas chromatography coupled to isotope ratio mass spectrometry

Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) following on-line combustion (C) of compounds separated by gas chromatography (GC) is a relatively young analytical method. Due to its ability to measure isotope distribution at natural abundance level with great accuracy and high precision, GC-C-IRMS has increasingly become the method of choice in authenticity control of foodstuffs and determination of origin in archaeology, geochemistry, and environmental chemistry. In combination with stable isotope labelled compounds, GC-C-IRMS is also used more and more in biochemical and biomedical application as it offers a reliable and risk-free alternative to the use of radioactive tracers. The literature on these topics is reviewed from the advent of commercial GC-C-IRMS systems in 1990 up to the beginning of 1998. Demands on sample preparation and quality of GC separation for GC-C-IRMS are discussed also.

Screening urine for exogenous testosterone by isotope ratio mass spectrometric analysis of one pregnanediol and two androstanediols

We propose a new screening method for testosterone (T) doping in sport. The current method for detecting T administration is based on finding a T to epitestosterone ratio (T/E) in urine that exceeds six. The difficulties with T/E are that T administration does not always result in a T/E>6 and that a rare individual will have T/E>6 in the absence of T administration. Our previous studies reveal that carbon isotope ratio helps to determine the origin of the urinary T because the values for T and its metabolites decrease after the administration of exogenous T. In this study, we present a rapid and efficient screening sample preparation method based on three successive liquid-solid extractions, deconjugation with E. coli beta-glucuronidase after the first extraction, acetylation after the second extraction, and a final extraction of the acetates. The 13C/12C of two T metabolites (5beta-androstane-3alpha,17beta-diol and 5alpha-androstane-3alpha,17beta-diol) and one pregnanediol as endogenous reference (5beta-pregnane-3alpha,20alpha-diol) was measured by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) on 10 ml of urine collected from 10 healthy men before and after T administration. Following T administration, the 13 C/12C of 5beta-androstane-3alpha,17beta-diol diacetate and 5alpha-androstane-3alpha,17beta-diol diacetate declined significantly from -26.2 per thousand to -30.8 per thousand and from -25.2 per thousand to -29.9 per thousand, respectively and the 13C/12C of 5beta-pregnane-3alpha,20alpha-diol diacetate was unchanged. In addition, the ratio of androstanediols to pregnanediol increased in the post-T urines.

Evidence for the presence of endogenous 19-norandrosterone in human urine

In 1997, in the scope of antidoping control in sport, a not inconsiderable number of urine analysed by official laboratories revealed the presence of 19-nortestosterone (19-NT: 17beta-hydroxyestr-4-en-3-one) metabolites: 19-norandrosterone (19-NA: 3alpha-hydroxy-5alpha-estran-17-one) and 19-noretiocholanolone (19-NE: 3alpha-hydroxy-5beta-estran-17-one). These repeated results on a short period of time generated some investigations and especially the verification of the possible production of these metabolites by an unknown endogenous route in adult entire male. Some experiences were led on different persons known to be non-treated with steroids and more precisely with nandrolone. Extractive methods were developed focusing on their selectivity, i.e. searching to eliminate at best matrix interferences from the target analytes. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (quadrupole and magnetic instruments) was used to detect, identify and quantify the suspected signals. Two types of derivatization (TMS and TBDMS), a semi-preparative HPLC as well as co-chromatography proved unambiguously the presence, in more than 50% of the analysed urine (n = 40), of 19-NA at concentrations between 0.05 and 0.60 ng/ml. 19-NE was not detected with the developed methods (LOD<0.02 ng/ml). Experiments led on athletes showed that after a prolonged intense effort, the 19-NA concentration can be increased by a factor varying between 2 and 4. Even if some complementary researches have to be done in order to determine the maximal physiological level of 19-NA and 19-NE, these results should considerably change the strategy of antidoping laboratories.

Analysis of exogenous dehydroepiandrosterone excretion in urine by gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry

A detailed procedure for the analysis of exogenous dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in urine by gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) has been established for detecting doping with DHEA. The average delta-value (parts per thousand difference of (13)C/(12)C ratio from the isotope ratio standard) of 26 synthetic steroids commercially available was -30.1 +/- 2.6, and was significantly lower than that of human endogenous DHEA in urine of the world class athletes who had participated in the XVIIth Olympic Winter Games (-20.3 +/- 2.1, n = 446). Although large inter-individual variations of urinary DHEA excretion were observed following a single oral administration of 50 mg of DHEA, no significant inter-individual difference was found when the excretion of exogenous DHEA was monitored in terms of delta-values using GC/C/IRMS; the minimum delta-values were observed around 6-8 h after the administration, and the values returned to the base level at over 72 h after the dosing. Thus, the deviations in delta-values of DHEA and its diol metabolites are considered to be conclusive evidence for detecting doping with DHEA. Some successful cases of detection of doping with DHEA from athletes are also reported.

Derivatization procedures for gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric determination of xenobiotics in biological samples, with special attention to drugs of abuse and doping agents

The development of low cost MS detectors in recent years has promoted an important increase in the applicability of GC-MS system to analyze for the presence of foreign substances in the human body. Drugs and toxic agents are in vivo metabolized in such a way that more polar compounds are usually formed. Derivatization of these metabolites is often an unavoidable requirement for gas chromatographic analysis. Application of derivatization methods in recent years has been relevant, especially for silylation, acylation, alkylation and the formation of cyclic or diastereomeric derivatives. Given the relevance of drug of abuse testing in modern toxicology, main derivatization procedures for opiates, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines, benzodiazepines and LSD have been reviewed. Papers describing the analyses of drugs of abuse in matrixes other than blood, such as hair or sweat, have received special attention. Advances in derivatization for sports drug testing have been particularly relevant for anabolic steroids, diuretics and corticosteroids. Among the several methodologies applied, the formation of trimethylsilyl, perfluoroacyl or methylated derivatives have proved to be both versatile and extensively used. Further advances in derivatization for GC-MS applications in clinical and forensic toxicology will depend on the one hand on the degree of further use of GC-MS for routine applications and, on the other hand, on the alternative progress made for developments in LC-MS or CE-MS. Last but not least, the appearance of comprehensive libraries in which reference spectra for different derivatives of many drugs and their metabolites are collected will have an important impact on the expansion of derivatization in GC-MS for toxicological applications.

Athletic drug testing

A drug-control program requires testing to ensure compliance and to deter use. In the athletic drug testing area, measurement of performance-enhancing substances is complex partly because of the large number of prohibited substances. A number of sophisticated analytical techniques, such as high-resolution mass spectrometry, are increasingly used to provide the maximum detection time window. Endogenous steroids pose an increasing challenge because of their availability in "nutritional supplements". Continued vigilance is required to prevent the pharmacologic enhancement of performance.

Oral administration of dehydroepiandrosterone to healthy men: alteration of the urinary androgen profile and consequences for the detection of abuse in sport by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) replacement therapy as compensation for high age-related decline of DHEA and DHEA sulfate production is a matter of intense investigation, since many beneficial effects have been proven, or are suggested and expected. Therefore, DHEA abuse by athletes has been considered by the International Olympic Committee, which banned the substance recently. As DHEA for oral supplementation is easily available, we decided to investigate the effect on the urinary androgen profile of administration along this route of a single substitution dose of 50 mg. Quantitative analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring demonstrated that the drug was readily absorbed with 50 to 75% recovery of dosing after 24 h, and with glucuro- and sulfoconjugates of DHEA, androsterone, and etiocholanolone as the most abundant metabolites. In agreement with reported data found in blood, conversion of exogenous DHEA to the principal biologically active androgen, testosterone, was low but proven to be real by the administration of deuterium-labeled DHEA and the subsequent identification and quantification of deuterium-labeled testosterone. A concentration threshold of 300 micrograms/L of DHEA glucuronide is proposed for the screening of DHEA abuse in sport, but a single replacement dose can only be detected during 8 h. Such a short detection period is the consequence of considerable first-pass hepatic metabolism and also of the high interindividual variability of circulating and urinary DHEA and DHEA sulfate concentrations.

Androstanediol and 5-androstenediol profiling for detecting exogenously administered dihydrotestosterone, epitestosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone: potential use in gas chromatography isotope ratio mass spectrometry

The basis of a potential method for confirming intake of four natural androgens (testosterone, epitestosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone is presented. The method relies on isolating from urine a steroid fraction containing androstenediol and androstanediol metabolites of these natural steroids and analyzing their 13C content by gas chromatography, combustion, isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The steroids were recovered from urine by conjugate hydrolysis with a Helix pomatia preparation (sulfatase and beta-glucuronidase), Girard T reagent separation to obtain a nonketonic fraction, and Sephadex LH-20 chromatography for purification. Metabolites appropriate for all of the natural steroids could be separated (as diacetates) by gas chromatography on a DB-17 capillary column viz.: 5 alpha (and beta)-androstane-3 alpha,17 alpha-diol (epitestosterone as precursor); 5 alpha (and beta)-androstane-3 alpha,17 beta-diol (testosterone as precursor); 5-androstene-3 beta,17 beta-diol (dehydroepiandrosterone precursor); and 5 alpha-androstane-3 alpha,17 beta- (and 17 alpha-) diol (dihydrotestosterone precursor). Measurement of the 13C content of the specific analytes after ingestion of the androgen precursors demonstrated a lowering of delta 13C/1000 value compared to normal values. Typically, in the male individual studied, delta 13C/1000 values for all components were -26 to -27 before drug administration and -29 to -30 at 6 h after, the latter values reflecting those obtaining for commercial synthetic steroid compared to in vivo synthesized steroid. While generally the metabolism of the steroids was as expected, this was not the case for 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone. A major metabolite was 5 alpha-androstane-3 alpha,17 alpha-diol, which had presumably been formed by 17 beta/17 alpha isomerization, a process previously known for unnatural anabolics but not for natural hormones. The isolation, purification, and isotope ratio mass spectrometry techniques described may form the basis of a general method for confirming natural steroid misuse by sports participants.

Electrospray mass spectrometry of testosterone esters: potential for use in doping control

The study described involves an attempt to identify 17 beta-fatty acid esters of testosterone in blood plasma following administration of such agents. These drugs are therapeutic but are increasingly misused by athletes in an attempt to improve sports performance. The mass spectral properties of testosterone esters under electrospray ionization are described. These esters (testosterone acetate, propionate, isocaproate, benzoate, enanthate, cypionate, phenylpropionate, decanoate, and undecanoate) essentially give only a protonated molecular ion (MH+) under "optimum sensitivity" mass spectrometric conditions but could be induced to fragment in the source or collision cell of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The underivatized steroid esters were analyzed by direct infusion because development of solvent systems compatible with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was not achieved for these nonpolar compounds. HPLC/MS (mass spectrometry) was possible when the steroids were converted to polar, water soluble, Girard hydrazones, and almost all were separated by microbore C4 HPLC using a water, acetonitrile, TFA gradient. The mass spectra under optimal ionization conditions essentially comprised only a molecular ion (M+), but source fragmentation gave major ions at M - 59 and M - 87 for all compounds. The molecular ion and these fragment ions were monitored in a selected-ion-recording (SIR) method developed for detecting the steroids in plasma. Using this methodology, testosterone enanthate and undecanoate could be detected after intramuscular injection or oral administration of the drugs. Further development of the technique could form the basis of a protocol for confirming the misuse of testosterone in sport, especially if sensitivity could be improved.