Simultaneous Detection of Steroid Esters and Multi-Class Substances in Dried Blood Spots by LC-HRMS/MS From a Single Spot for Human Doping Control
Sakellariou et al.
The finding, in our words
The authors validated a mass spectrometry method that simultaneously detects fifteen anabolic steroid esters and approximately eighty-five other prohibited substances from a single dried blood spot. Using a Tasso-M20 device, they detected testosterone undecanoate in authentic samples after oral administration, meeting World Anti-Doping Agency requirements. This reduces sample volume and simplifies workflows for decentralised anti-doping screening.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
The authors found that a single microdose of recombinant EPO was detectable up to 72 hours using ITP and CP methods, though the Tasso microsampling device showed lower sensitivity than Mitra and Capitainer. Additionally, isotope ratio mass spectrometry successfully detected testosterone micro-dosing in all analysed samples, supported by serum testosterone levels.
Heiland et al., Drug testing and analysis · source ↗
A 2025 review maps 28 microsampling devices, from dried spots and volumetric absorptive tips to upper-arm liquid capillary collectors, and names what a laboratory must control before their results are used: the haematocrit effect in non-volumetric dried samples, interstitial fluid from finger milking, volume, haemolysis and transport stability. Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic ask for the same two things, a device the patient can use safely and a sample fit for the test.
The analysis indicates that dried blood spots and volumetric absorptive microsampling enable minimally invasive monitoring of prohibited substances, with volumetric absorptive microsampling offering improved quantitative reliability over traditional dried spots.
A validated two-step LC-MS/MS protocol can identify 91 prohibited doping agents from a single dried blood spot collected on either cellulose cards or volumetric absorptive microsampling devices. This demonstrates robust multi-analyte screening from capillary blood, supporting decentralised anti-doping programmes where venous sampling is impractical.
Blood-based matrices such as serum and dried blood spots offer direct access to circulating analytes, overcoming key detection limitations of traditional urine testing for agents like erythropoiesis-stimulating drugs and peptide hormones. Capillary microsampling technologies provide simplified collection workflows that support the expansion of multi-matrix anti-doping and biological passport programmes.