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

Advanced trends in detecting boldenone, its metabolites, and precursors in biological matrices: an integrative review of chromatographic methods

Boldenone (BOL) has been frequently detected in doping and food safety over the past few decades. Researchers have studied BOL metabolism across various species, reporting significant differences even within the same species due to variations in experimental designs and analytical methods. Additionally, detection methods face challenges such as matrix interferences and the presence of endogenous structural analogs at low concentrations. This study aims to compile and analyze the development of chromatographic techniques for detecting BOL and its metabolites in biological matrices. An integrative review of literature from May 2000 to September 2024 was conducted using databases like PubMed, ScienceDirect, Elsevier, Springer, Scopus, Wiley, and Taylor & Francis. The MeSH terms 'boldenone' AND 'detection,' restricted to titles or abstracts, yielded 167 records, with 79 meeting the inclusion criteria. Hyphenated techniques (e.g., LC/MS/MS and GC/C/IRMS) were predominantly used and generally successful in identifying BOL, its precursors, and metabolites, particularly in characterizing their endogenous origin or differentiating isomers. Urine was the most commonly observed matrix, and solid-phase extraction (SPE) was the predominant extraction technique. Future research should aim to improve extraction and detection methods to address current discrepancies in controlling BOL use, as its pharmacological properties have led to negative repercussions in sports and concerns about food safety.

Prevalence of nandrolone preparations with endogenous carbon isotope ratios in Australia

Nandrolone and its prohormones, including 19-norandrost-4-ene-3,17-dione and 19-norandrost-4-ene-3β,17β-diol, are anabolic steroids forbidden at all times in sports according to the World Anti-Doping Code Prohibited List and its metabolite 19-norandrosterone (19NA) is the preferred urinary target compound to identify their abuse. In recent years, an increasing number of 19NA isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) cases have arisen that, based on the initial testing procedure, were likely to result in an adverse analytical finding but were concluded negative after IRMS analysis. The current study was therefore set up to gain a better insight on the prevalence of nandrolone preparations with endogenous carbon isotope ratio values in Australia. Suitable workplace (non-athlete) urine samples that had previously been reported positive for 19NA were identified and analysed on IRMS. A total of 82% of the samples that were analysed were reported with enriched carbon isotope ratios of 19NA (i.e., 19NA greater than -26‰). This indicates that there is a high prevalence of nandrolone-containing anabolic androgenic steroid preparations in Australia that have 'endogenous' carbon isotope ratios which reduces the ability to identify exogenous nandrolone.

Comparison of analytical approaches for the detection of oral testosterone undecanoate administration in men

For antidoping laboratories, the determination of an illicit testosterone (T) administration in urine samples remains a difficult process as it requires the determination of the exogenous origin by carbon isotope ratios (CIRs) of testosterone and its metabolites. As a complement to the urinary analysis, targeting testosterone esters (e.g. testosterone undecanoate [TU]) in serum samples by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) could represent a simpler approach compared with isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). These two approaches both lead to the direct detection of the administration of exogenous T but with a difference in effort and complexity of the analysis. To compare the detection window obtained with the two strategies, serum and the corresponding urine samples collected from an administration study with oral TU were analysed. Results showed that, at all timepoints where the intact TU was detected in serum, the CIRs of urinary steroids were also not in agreement with an endogenous origin. IRMS analysis required more effort but resulted in slightly longer detection windows than the ester analysis. Finally, this comparison study showed that, in the presence of a suspicious urinary steroid profile, the LC-MS/MS steroid esters analysis in the corresponding serum samples can be very helpful. If steroid esters are not detected, the IRMS analysis can then be conducted on the urine sample afterwards. Overall, the combination of matrices might facilitate the detection of prohibited T administration in sports, especially for athletes with naturally low T/E ratios.

δ13 C values of urinary 19-norandrosterone in antidoping samples and potential for adverse findings from boar offal consumption

19-Norandrosterone (19NA) is the preferred urinary target compound to identify doping with nandrolone or related 19-norsteroids. At concentrations between 2.5 and 15 ng/mL, isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) is required to establish exogenous origin of urinary 19NA. An absolute difference of 3‰ between urinary 19NA and an endogenous reference compound (ERC) constitutes a finding for exogenous origin of 19NA. Over the last 3 years, 77 samples containing urinary 19NA between 2.5 and 15 ng/mL were analyzed at our laboratory. The measured δ13 C values for 19NA ranged from -29.5‰ to -16.8‰. In comparison, the δ13 C values for the corresponding urinary ERCs ranged from -22.4‰ to -16.2‰. Due to the considerable overlap in values between the target compound and the natural range of urinary ERCs, it can be challenging to distinguish between endogenous and exogenous origins of urinary 19NA. In addition, it is well known that consumption of offal from non-castrated pigs can produce 19NA in urine. To determine whether this could cause a positive IRMS finding under the current IRMS positivity criteria, meat from non-castrated boars fed a mixture of corn and soy was consumed by 13 volunteers. Two volunteers produced 19NA findings above 2.5 ng/mL, and the measured isotope values, while inconsistent with documented 19-norsteroid preparations, did meet IRMS positivity criteria. However, these increases in 19NA urinary concentrations were short-lived due to rapid elimination. Timely follow-up collections may help support a claim for dietary exposure when low urinary concentrations of 19NA with pseudo-endogenous isotope values are observed.

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.

Bias estimation in the certification of steroid reference materials for carbon isotope delta measurements via elemental analyser and gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry

RATIONALE

Two new certified reference materials (CRMs) have been prepared providing three steroids certified for stable carbon isotope delta values, δ(¹³ C) ‰. These materials have been designed to assist anti-doping laboratories in validating their calibration method or to be employed as calibrant for stable carbon isotope measurements of Boldenone, Boldenone Metabolite 1 and Formestane. These CRMs will allow for accurate and traceable analysis in compliance with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Technical Document TD2021IRMS.

METHODS

Certification was performed using an elemental analyser-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS) primary reference method on the bulk carbon isotope ratios of nominally pure steroid starting materials. EA-IRMS analyses were carried out on a Flash EA Isolink CN coupled via a Conflo IV to a Delta V plus mass spectrometer. Confirmation analysis was performed by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) using a Trace 1310 GC coupled to a Delta V plus mass spectrometer via GC Isolink II.

RESULTS

Based on the EA-IRMS analysis, the materials were certified with δ(¹³ C) values of -30.38‰ (Boldenone), -29.71‰ (Boldenone Metabolite 1) and 30.71‰ (Formestane). Noting that the assumption of 100% purity in the starting materials has the potential to introduce bias, this was investigated using GC-C-IRMS analysis and theoretical modelling based on purity assessment data.

CONCLUSIONS

Careful application of this theoretical model was shown to provide reasonable estimates of uncertainty while avoiding the introduction of errors associated with analyte-specific fractionation during GC-C-IRMS analysis.

5α-reductase inhibitors: Evaluation of their potential confounding effect on GC-C-IRMS doping analysis

5α-reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs) are considered by the World Anti-doping Agency as potential confounding factors in evaluating the athlete steroid profile, since they may interfere with the urinary excretion of several diagnostic compounds. We herein investigated 5α-reductase inhibitors from a different perspective, by verifying their influence on the carbon isotopic composition of 5α- and 5β-reduced testosterone and nandrolone metabolites. The GC-C-IRMS analysis was performed on a set of urine samples collected from three male Caucasian volunteers after the acute and chronic administration of finasteride in combination with the intake of 19-norandrostenedione, a nandrolone precursor. The excretion and the isotopic profile of androsterone (A), etiocholanolone (Etio) 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol (5αAdiol), and 5β-androstane-3α,17β-diol (5βAdiol) were determined as well as those of 19-norandrosterone (19-NA) and 19-noretiocholanolone (19-NE). Pregnanediol (PD) and pregnanetriol (PT) were also measured as endogenous reference compounds to define the individual endogenous isotopic profile. Our results confirmed the impact of finasteride, especially if chronically administered, on the enzymatic pathway of testosterone and nandrolone, and pointed out the influence of 5-ARIs on δ¹³ C values of the selected target compounds determined in the IRMS confirmation analysis.

Investigations in carbon isotope ratios of seized testosterone and boldenone preparations

In order to detect the misuse of testosterone (T) or boldenone (Bo) in doping control analysis, the confirmation of atypical findings employing the determination of carbon isotope ratios (CIR) is mandatory for issuing adverse analytical findings. Elevated concentrations of T (or elevated T/epitestosterone ratios) may result from confounding factors such as ethanol intake, and the presence of low urinary concentrations of Bo can originate from endogenous or urinary in situ production of small amounts of the steroid. As pharmaceutical preparations of Bo and T are generally depleted in ¹³ C, their CIR differ significantly from the ¹³ C-enriched endogenous steroids. Some rare cases have been reported on pharmaceutical preparations showing ¹³ C-enriched isotope ratios that complicate the current application of CIR in sports drug testing. Therefore, the CIR of a subset of n = 157 T preparations and n = 39 Bo preparations seized in Switzerland and Germany between 2013 and 2018 was analyzed in order to estimate the possible impact of steroid preparations showing ¹³ C-enriched isotope ratios on the current approach to detect their misuse. All investigated Bo preparations showed CIR in the expected range between - 26.7 and -30.3‰. Within the T samples, 95% showed the expected values below -26‰ while six samples fall between -25 and -26‰ and one sample was indistinguishable from endogenously produced T with a CIR of -23.3‰.

Application of online two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography as purification procedure to determine the origin of 19-norandrosterone in urine by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry

19-Norandrosterone (19-NA) is the main metabolite of nandrolone and/or its precursors, which can be found naturally in human urine in trace amount. Gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) confirmation procedure can be used to identify a potential exogenous origin of 19-NA in urine sample. Sample purification for GC-C-IRMS analysis is crucial to the whole confirmation procedure because the concentration of 19-NA in the urine to be tested is very low. Online two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography (2D-HPLC) clean-up procedure with high separation capacity is used to isolate and enrich 19-NA as a sample pretreatment process. Linearity, lowest detectable concentration, uncertainty, and selectivity of the method are validated according to the World Anti-doping Agency's (WADA) requirement. Isotope fractionation effect was not observed during the 2D-HPLC purification process. The validated method provides a high efficient and convenient confirmation procedure to determine the origin of 19-NA.

Differentiation of endogenous and exogenous γ-Hydroxybutyrate in rat and human urine by GC/C/IRMS

Gamma (γ)-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) has been reported to be an endogenous compound in the mammalian brain. It used to treat symptoms of alcohol, opioid, and drug withdrawal and cataplexy of narcolepsy. However, it is often used for criminal purposes because it is colorless, tasteless, and has short half-life. For this reason, there is a need for a method of distinguishing between endogenous and exogenous GHB administration. Therefore, urine from rat before administration of GHB and GHB urine after the single intraperitoneal injection of GHB as 30 mg/100 g were collected from Sprague-Dawley rats (7 weeks old, 10 males and females). Negative control urine, urine from individuals suspected of taking GHB, and urine from victims who were GHB-involved crime were collected. In urine samples, GHB was extracted with two-step SPE and collected fraction was derivatized and analyzed by GC/MS and GC/C/IRMS. In GC/MS and GC/C/IRMS analysis of rat urine, there was a statistically significant difference between urine from rat before administration of GHB and GHB rat urine (p < 0.05). In GC/MS analysis of human urine samples, there was no significant difference among human urine groups (negative control, suspects' urine, and victims' urine), but in GC/C/IRMS analysis of human urine samples, there was a statistically significant difference among human urine groups (p = 0.0001). Through these results, GC/C/IRMS can be more effective tool to identify endogenous and exogenous GHB in urine than GC/MS. This study can build a drug management system in forensic investigation agency and offer interpretation method to forensic science and court.

Qualitative and Semiquantitative Analysis of Doping Products Seized at the Swiss Border

BACKGROUND

Substances developed for therapeutic use are also known to be misused by athletes as doping agents and, outside of regulated sport, for image-enhancement. This has generated a market for counterfeit doping substances. Counterfeit doping agents may be of poor pharmaceutical quality and therefore constitute health risks to consumers.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to investigate the pharmaceutical quality of 1,190 doping products seized at the Swiss border.

METHODS

Swiss customs authorities seize incoming shipments potentially containing doping agents. Qualitative and semiquantitative analyses were performed in order to test for prohibited doping substances. The main analytical methods utilized for characterizing confiscated compounds were liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with subsequent in-gel tryptic digestion and identification of peptidic compounds using nanoliquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and electrochemiluminescence immuno assay.

RESULTS

For 889 (75%) of the analyzed products, the label suggested the content of anabolic agents, for 146 samples (12%) peptide hormones or growth factors, and for 113 items (9%) antiestrogens, aromatase inhibitors or other metabolic modulators. For the majority of the investigated products, the pharmaceutical quality was an unsatisfactory standard: nonapproved substances were detected and less than 20% of the products contained the claimed substance in the respective amount.

CONCLUSION

A comprehensive sample of confiscated doping products was analyzed, allowing for monitoring of developments regarding the use of doping substances in Switzerland and for anticipating future trends and challenges in sports drug testing. An alarming number of tested products was of substandard pharmaceutical quality.

Annual banned-substance review: analytical approaches in human sports drug testing

The aim of improving anti-doping efforts is predicated on several different pillars, including, amongst others, optimized analytical methods. These commonly result from exploiting most recent developments in analytical instrumentation as well as research data on elite athletes' physiology in general, and pharmacology, metabolism, elimination, and downstream effects of prohibited substances and methods of doping, in particular. The need for frequent and adequate adaptations of sports drug testing procedures has been incessant, largely due to the uninterrupted emergence of new chemical entities but also due to the apparent use of established or even obsolete drugs for reasons other than therapeutic means, such as assumed beneficial effects on endurance, strength, and regeneration capacities. Continuing the series of annual banned-substance reviews, literature concerning human sports drug testing published between October 2014 and September 2015 is summarized and reviewed in reference to the content of the 2015 Prohibited List as issued by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), with particular emphasis on analytical approaches and their contribution to enhanced doping controls.

Simultaneous Detection of Androgen and Estrogen Abuse in Breeding Animals by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/Combustion/Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/C/IRMS) Evaluated against Alternative Methods

The administration of synthetic homologues of naturally occurring steroids can be demonstrated by measuring (13)C/(12)C isotopic ratios of their urinary metabolites. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-MS/C/IRMS) was used in this study to appraise in a global approach isotopic deviations of two 17β-testosterone metabolites (17α-testosterone and etiocholanolone) and one 17β-estradiol metabolite (17α-estradiol) together with those of 5-androstene-3β,17α-diol as endogenous reference compound (ERC). Intermediate precisions of 0.35‰, 1.05‰, 0.35‰, and 0.21‰, respectively, were observed (n = 8). To assess the performance of the analytical method, a bull and a heifer were treated with 17β-testosterone propionate and 17β-estradiol-3-benzoate. The sensitivity of the method permitted the demonstration of 17β-estradiol treatment up to 24 days. For 17β-testosterone treatment, the detection windows were 3 days and 24 days for the bull and the heifer, respectively. The capability of GC-MS/C/IRMS to demonstrate natural steroid abuse for urinary steroids was eventually compared to those of mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) when measuring intact steroid esters in blood and hair.