Examination of Firearms Review: 2007 to 2010 - Interpol

sports. A method was described for unequivocal identification of DPO in
human plasma [ 398 ]. The analyte was extracted from plasma by
immunoaffinity separation with anti-rhEPO antibodies, digested by trypsin
followed by peptide-N-glycoside F (PNGase F), and analyzed by LC-MS/MS;
the LOD for DPO was 0.1 ng/mL. Four proposed new markers for detection of
rhEPO abuse were reported. Preliminary data showed that concentrations of
asymmetrical dimethylarginine (ADMA), symmetrical dimethylarginine (SDMA),
citrulline, and arginine in human urine were increased after administration of a
single intravenous erythropoietin injection, up to 40-270 µg /mL, 40-240 µg/ mL,
10-60 µg /mL and 12-140 µg/ mL, respectively [399].
While samples containing endogenous growth hormone (GH) yield up to four
isoforms, samples with recombinant GH contain the main 22 kDa spot only. A
method was reported to separate different isoforms by two-dimensional
polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE) after isolation of GH from
plasma, using an immunoaffinity purification system which detected discrete
isoforms of GH from plasma, thereby discriminating endogenous GH from its
recombinant analog [400]. A mass spectrometric approach was developed to
determine the nondegraded hormone, gonadotropin-releasing hormone
(GnRH), in doping control samples with SPE, immunoaffinity purification, and a
subsequent analysis by LC-ESI-MS/MS [401]. The method offered an LOD of
about 5 pg/mL, and urinary concentrations of the intact peptide in
post-administration samples ranged from 20 - 100 pg/mL.
Doping control analysis of performance-enhancing peptides in urine
represents a challenging requirement in modern sports drug testing: Low
doses and short half-lives lead to low concentrations (in fmol/mL range) in
urine. Immunoaffinity purification with UPLC-MS/MS (high resolution/high
mass accuracy) of Synacthen from urinary specimens is described and
validated with LOD of 3 pg/mL [402].
A study was conducted on the intra-individual variance of total hemoglobin
mass (tHb-mass) in elite athletes during a training year as the basis to
measure tHb-mass as an effective screening parameter for detecting blood
doping [403]. Results showed that tHb-mass was very low for individuals
during a training year (