The use of drugs in sport is regulated by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Enforcement of these regulations primarily occurs through the collection of urine samples from athletes at a training venue or home address (Out-of-Competition) or In-Competition. Subsequent analysis of these samples for the presence of substances on the WADA Prohibited List is carried out in an accredited laboratory such as the Drug Control Centre. To protect the rights of the athlete, the collected sample is distributed into an A- and B aliquot and rendered anonymous. While the A-aliquot is analysed upon arrival in the laboratory, the B-aliquot is stored and can be utilised by the athlete for repeat analysis if requested.

Since 2015, the WAD Code has allowed Anti-Doping Organisations to store doping control samples for up to 10 years following collection, to repeat analysis with updated and improved detection methods, e.g., with more sensitive methods or for the detection of compounds that were not possible during the first analysis. This reanalysis of samples carries the same consequences as the initial testing and thus detection of substances previously undetected can be used to file an alleged case of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV).

As significant investment is required to store samples long-term and then request additional analysis at a future timepoint, one of the project’s aims is to provide some reassurance that this is money well spent. Anti-doping science has seen remarkable progress over the years, including decreases in detection limits and through the discovery of long-term metabolites such as those of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) (e.g., dehydrochloromethyltestosterone and stanozolol). Retrospective sample analysis can simply involve reprocessing data that was first collected to confirm compounds previously identified, or each sample can be reanalysed to look for newer markers of drug metabolism after a period of storage. In addition, certain substances are not routinely screened for at the point of original analysis (particularly, peptide hormones), therefore it is important to understand how these substances behave following a period of storage.

This study will investigate whether prohibited substances such as exogenous AAS detected following the original analysis can still be identified after a period of storage. A comparison will also be made of the estimated concentrations of the compounds originally identified with the estimated concentrations following re-analysis, thereby assessing their level of degradation during storage. We will also explore whether new long-term metabolites can be identified after a period of storage.

Investigators

Dr Chris Walker	Research Associate
Christiaan Bartlett	Lead Analyst Blood Doping
Elizabeth Yepez Gavilanes	Senior Analyst-Blood Doping
Abraham Ali	Lead Analyst GC-Technologies
Stephanie Farrant	Senior Analyst-GC-MS
Cheyanne Pierre	GC-MS Analyst
Scarlett Devey	Lead Analyst LC-MS
Adam Tilcock	Senior Analyst-LC-MS
Dean Nyarko-Mensah	Analyst LC-MS
Smita Ramma	Analyst Blood Doping
Pat Hartley	Head of Results, UK Anti-Doping (UKAD)
Dr Nikola Costa	Research & Innovation Lead, UK Anti-Doping (UKAD)
Ivana Gavrilovic
Nick Wojek