Determination of salmeterol, α-hydroxysalmeterol and fluticasone propionate in human urine and plasma for doping control using UHPLC-QTOF-MS

Salmeterol and fluticasone are included in the Prohibited List annually issued by the World Anti-Doping Agency. While for other permitted beta-2 agonists a threshold has been established, above which any finding constitutes an Adverse Analytical Finding, this is not the case with salmeterol. The salmeterol metabolite, α-hydroxysalmeterol, has been described as a potentially more suitable biomarker for the misuse of inhaled salmeterol. In this study, a new and rapid UHPLC-QTOF-MS method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of salmeterol, α-hydroxysalmeterol and fluticasone in human urine and plasma, which can be used for doping control. The analytes of interest were extracted by means of solid phase extraction and were separated on a Zorbax Eclipse Plus C₁₈ column. Detection was performed in a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source, in positive mode for the detection of salmeterol and its metabolite and in negative mode for the detection of fluticasone. Method was validated over a linear range from 0.10 to 2.00 ng/ml for salmeterol and fluticasone, and from 1.00 to 20.0 ng/ml for α-hydroxysalmeterol, in urine, whereas in plasma, the linear range was from 0.025 to 0.500 ng/ml for salmeterol and fluticasone, respectively.

Human in vivo metabolism study of LGD-4033

Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) are an emerging class of therapeutics targeted to cachexia, sarcopenia, and hypogonadism treatment. LGD-4033 is a SARM which has been included on the Prohibited List annually released by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The aim of the present work was the investigation of the metabolism of LGD-4033 in a human excretion study after administration of an LGD-4033 supplement, the determination of the metabolites' excretion profiles with special interest in the determination of its long-term metabolites, and the comparison of the excretion time of the phase I and phase II metabolites. The results were also compared to those derived from previous LGD-4033 studies concerning both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Supplement containing LGD-4033 was administered to one human male volunteer and urine samples were collected up to almost 21 days. Analysis of the hydrolyzed (with β-glucuronidase) as well as of the non-hydrolyzed samples was performed using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) in negative ionization mode and revealed that, in both cases, the two isomers of the dihydroxylated metabolite (M5) were preferred target metabolites. The gluco-conjugated parent LGD-4033 and its gluco-conjugated metabolites M1 and M2 can be also considered as useful target analytes in non-hydrolyzed samples. The study also presents two trihydroxylated metabolites (M6) identified for the first time in human urine; one of them was recently reported in an LGD-4033 metabolism study in horse urine and plasma.

A synopsis of the adverse analytical and atypical findings between 2005 and 2011 from the Doping Control Laboratory of Athens in Greece

This article concerns the analysis of the Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs) and the appropriate alterations made during the period 2005-2011, so that the Doping Control Laboratory of Athens (DCLA) obeys the updated World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) List of Prohibited Substances. The % AAFs of the DCLA was compared with those of WADA-Accredited Laboratories. In 2008, the term Atypical Finding was introduced by the WADA representing a reported but inconclusive result. A characteristic example is when a testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio is >4 followed by a negative gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry result. In a total of about 30,000 athlete samples, 136 athletes were found with an increased testosterone/epitestosterone ratio and 43 with tetrahydrocannabinol metabolite (THCCOOH) of 427 reported AAFs. Twenty-one athletes in total were found positive with methylhexaneamine, the 11 found after a batch of 1000 samples was reprocessed. Besides, there were AAFs below their Minimum Required Performance Level (MRPL). The increasing need for higher detectability imposed new apparatus, e.g., liquid chromatography/quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry, whereas that for lowering the capital costs and reporting times led to the unification of the screening method which includes stimulants, diuretics, anabolics and other substances.