Metabolism of boldione in humans by mass spectrometric techniques: detection of pseudoendogenous metabolites: Metabolism of boldione in humans by mass spectrometric techniques

Isolation and enrichment of Boldenone and its main metabolite in urinary samples to further determine the 13C/12C ratios by gas chromatography / combustion / isotope ratio mass spectrometry

Gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) can be used to detect the synthetic forms of endogenous anabolic androgenic steroids (EAAS) by comparing the 13C/12C ratios of the endogenous reference compound to that of the target compound. Isolation and enrichment of the target compound from urinary matrices is an essential prerequisite for the GC/C/IRMS confirmation procedure in doping control analysis. Boldenone (Bo) is a natural anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) and a derivative of testosterone. The GC/C/IRMS confirmation procedure for Bo and its main metabolite 5β-androst-1-en-17β-ol-3-one (BoM) is extremely complicated due to the low concentrations and the enormously complex matrices in urine. The present study demonstrated a sample purification procedure for GC/C/IRMS by using online 2D-HPLC to purify Bo and BoM in urine samples. Bo and BoM with concentrations as low as 2 ng/mL were isolated and enriched with superior purity and selectivity. The validity of the method was verified with the technical document issued by the world anti-doping agency. The online 2D-HPLC purification procedure featured high selectivity for the analytes and no isotopic fractionation in the collection process. The present method can be used as a routine method allowing doping control laboratories to perform Boldenone confirmation.

Carbon isotope ratios of nandrolone, boldenone, and testosterone preparations seized in Norway compared to those of endogenously produced steroids in a Nordic reference population

Determining the origin of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) that also are produced endogenously in the human body is a major issue in doping control. In some cases, the presence of nandrolone and boldenone metabolites might result from endogenous production. The GC-C-IRMS technique (gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry) enables the carbon isotopic ratio (CIR) to be measured to determine the origin of these metabolites. The aim of this study was to use GC-C-IRMS to determine the δ(13) CVPDB values of seized boldenone and nandrolone preparations to decide if the steroids themselves were depleted in (13) C, compared to what is normally seen in endogenously produced steroids. In addition, several testosterone preparations were analyzed. A total of 69 seized preparations were analyzed. The nandrolone preparations showed δ(13) CVPDB values in the range of -31.5 ‰ to -26.7 ‰. The boldenone preparations showed δ(13) CVPDB values in the range of -32.0 ‰ to -27.8 ‰, and for comparison the testosterone preparations showed δ(13) CVPDB values of -31.0 ‰ to -24.2 ‰. The results showed that the values measured in the nandrolone and boldenone preparations were in the same range as those measured in the testosterone preparations. The study also included measurements of CIR of endogenously produced steroids in a Norwegian/Danish reference population. The δ(13) CVPDB values measured for the endogenous steroids in this population were in the range of -21.7 to -26.8. In general, most of the preparations investigated in this study show (13) C-depleted delta values compared to endogenously produced steroids reflecting a northern European diet.