DOPING ANALYSIS OF BETA-BLOCKING DRUGS USING HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

A screening method for doping analysis of (polar) beta-blocking drugs, based upon conventional liquid-liquid extraction and reversed-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography with dual wavelength UV detection (240 nm/275 nm) and/or fluorescence detection (240 nm/320 nm) is proposed. The assay limits range from 200 to 2000 ng ml-1 for the compounds included in this study and this is sufficiently low for doping analysis in human urine. The chromatographic retention of beta-blocking drugs is related to their lipid solubility. This assay may be considered an interesting alternative to other (GC-MS) analytical techniques commonly applied in doping research.