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Sports drug testing using immuno-MS: clinical study comprising administration of human chorionic gonadotropin to males

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Abstract

The applicability of a mass spectrometry (MS)-based method for determination of various forms of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in doping analysis was demonstrated. A clinical study involving the hCG-containing pharmaceuticals Pregnyl and Ovitrelle was carried out, comprising a single injection of one pharmaceutical per participant to a total of 24 healthy male voluntaries. Hereafter, serum and urine samples were collected over a period of 14 days. The analysis of the samples using immuno-MS demonstrated elimination profiles of intact hCG for both pharmaceuticals, with last day of detection following administration at day 7 in serum, and at day 10 in urine, at limit of detections as defined by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Furthermore, the method allowed detection and differentiation of the various forms of hCG known to be present in serum and urine as a function of metabolism. For both pharmaceuticals, only the intact hCG was detected in serum, whereas in urine the injection of Pregnyl as hCG source (containing urinary hCG, i.e., most hCG variants) was shown to generate a more complex hCG variant pattern compared to Ovitrelle (contains only intact hCG). By detecting hCG using this MS-based approach in doping analysis, strong analytical evidence is provided minimizing the risk of false-positive and false-negative results.

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Acknowledgment

This project has been carried out with the support of WADA.

Ethics approval

The project has been assessed and approved by the Norwegian Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics.

Author contributions

The manuscript was written through contributions of all authors. All authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript.

Funding sources

This project has received funding from WADA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1068 Blindern, Oslo, 0316, Norway

    Hanne Lund, Ann Helene Snilsberg, Trine Grønhaug Halvorsen, Peter Hemmersbach & Léon Reubsaet

  2. Department of Medical Biochemistry, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, 0424, Norway

    Elisabeth Paus

  3. Norwegian Doping Control Laboratory, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, 0424, Norway

    Peter Hemmersbach

Authors
  1. Hanne Lund
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  2. Ann Helene Snilsberg
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  3. Elisabeth Paus
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  4. Trine Grønhaug Halvorsen
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  5. Peter Hemmersbach
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  6. Léon Reubsaet
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Léon Reubsaet.

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Lund, H., Snilsberg, A.H., Paus, E. et al. Sports drug testing using immuno-MS: clinical study comprising administration of human chorionic gonadotropin to males. Anal Bioanal Chem 405, 1569–1576 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-6566-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-6566-6

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