PhD defence W.M. Abushareeda

Screening of doping substances in human urine with gas and liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry

The unification of different analytical screening procedures has become an important issue for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Accredited Laboratories and can be cost-effective in terms of saving laboratory resources, reducing reporting time and laboratory infrastructure. The use of the unknown designer drugs (new drugs circulated without official approval of national pharmaceutical organizations) by athletes is considered a serious threat for the antidoping system and directs the analytical technology to acquire sensitive (especially for the anabolic agents), specific and accurate data for as many prohibited known and designer molecules as possible through full scan acquisition mass spectrometry. Moreover, the long-term storage of the antidoping samples and reanalysis of samples and acquired data with negative antidoping outcome, e.g. after the circulation of unknown designers is being known by antidoping authorities or the detection of new long-term metabolites that change the detection times in urine, would create an antidoping framework where the new information can be applied not only to current and future tests, but also to previously negative reported samples. The overall aim of the PhD project of Whadha Abushareeda is to study the use of high-resolution full scan (FS/HR) liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) small molecule platforms for comprehensive antidoping screening. FS/HR allows to accurately identify and quantify the endogenous anabolic steroids included in the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) measured with GC/MS and to consider new steroidal ABP biomarkers such as intact sulfate phase II metabolites and to apply new mass spectrometry data processing approach for the detection of unknown designer doping agents. The main conclusion is that the new FS/HR GC/MS and LC/MS methods presented in this PhD research are validated for high-throughput antidoping screening and are ready to be applied as routine procedures in any WADA Accredited Laboratory equipped with the respective analytical technologies.

Promotores: Prof.dr. P.L. Horvatovich