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R eview S pecial Focus: A nti- doping analysis & the O lympics Analytical progresses of the International Olympic Committee and World Anti-Doping Agency Olympic laboratories The Summer Olympic Games constitute the biggest concentration of human sports and activities in a particular place and time since 776 BCE, when the written history of the Olympic Games in Olympia began. Summer and Winter Olympic anti-doping laboratories, accredited by the International Olympic Committee in the past and the World Anti-Doping Agency in the present times, acquire worldwide interest to apply all new analytical advancements in the fight against doping in sports, hoping that this major human event will not become dirty by association with this negative phenomenon. This article summarizes the new analytical progresses, technologies and knowledge used by the Olympic laboratories, which for the vast majority of them are, eventually, incorporated into routine anti-doping analysis. The Olympic Games (OG) played a very important role in the ethics, the philosophy and the mentality of the ancient Greeks. Their impact on the divided – in ancient times – Greek citystates was continuous. To name only a few: the Olympic Truce was stopping wars among Greek cities; the calendar was adjusted to the every 4-year Olympic event; and Greeks were concentrating from the mainland and the colonies (Figure 1) [1] , creating the concept of a mega event with religious, sports and political dimensions. The OG today remain a mega event as the sociology science defines [2] with respective dimensions: financial instead of religious, sports and political. In that framework, the anti-doping system has a very important role: to keep the OG impact and dimensions as much as possible not influenced and clean from doping. Consequently, the Olympic antidoping laboratories, responsible for performing the anti-doping analysis of the OG, accredited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) up to 2004 and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) afterwards, have a worldwide interest in applying and utilizing all the analytical advancements. International experts in the field are contributing to this direction. IOC analytical specifications for the Olympic laboratories comprise the reporting time of negative samples in 24 h and of positives in 48 h. WADA publishes the catalogue of the accredited laboratories for doping control analysis [101] . None of the accredited laboratories, in each routine analytical capacity, is able to cope with this sort of turnaround time for the hundreds of OG anti-doping samples daily. The number of the in- and out-of-competition anti-doping samples has been constantly increasing since the 1996 Atlanta OG from around 1500 [3] to a planned number of 6250 for the forthcoming 2012 London OG [102] . The Olympic laboratories are supported not only to enhance their qualitative–technological capacities, and to comply with the mega event needs, but they must also have infrastructure that multiplies their routine analytical capacity. The present article is a review of the qualitative–technological progress of the Olympic laboratories starting from the 1972 Munich OG, since at the 1968 Mexico OG only limited testing was introduced by IOC. This progress was not always an easy and overnight task for many reasons: it adds to existing pre-Olympic rush status where budget, space, staff training and instrumentation should be ensured; the laboratory has to implement the new method without experience in quite a demanding environment, which comprises 24 to 48-h reporting time, consecutive shifts of staff and presence of independent observers; and, any laboratory error can influence the entire Olympic investment of the country, since media can now give full worldwide publicity in seconds. 10.4155/BIO.12.148 © 2012 Future Science Ltd Bioanalysis (2012) 4(13), 1549–1563 Costas Georgakopoulos*1, Martial Saugy2 , Sylvain Giraud2 , Neil Robinson2 & Mohammed Alsayrafi1 1 Anti-Doping Laboratory Qatar, PO Box 27775, Doha, State of Qatar 2 Laboratoire Suisse d’Analyse du Dopage, Switzerland *Author for correspondence: Tel.: +974 4413 2991 Fax: +974 4413 2997 E-mail: costas@adlqatar.com 1972 Munich OG The anti-doping control of the 1972 Munich OG was the beginning of the modern antidoping system, which eventually progressed to ISSN 1757-6180 1549 R eview | Georgakopoulos, Saugy, Giraud, Robinson & Alsayrafi Figure 1. Map showing routes from Greek cities and colonies to the Olympic Games in Olympia later than the 5th century BCE. Reproduced with permission from The British Museum Company Ltd [1] . the WADA Anti-Doping Code. The IOC and Donike organized a large daily number of antidoping tests, to be conducted according to the List of Prohibited Substances and Methods, using GC screening, MS confirmatory methods, 24-h sample reporting times, A and B sample analysis and double-blind QC samples (control samples introduced by the sports authority among the routine samples, which are are not identifiable as control samples, to check laboratory operations) [3] . With the use of chromatographic systems equipped with nitrogen–phosphorus detectors (NPD) and autosamplers, it was possible to analyze up to 220 samples per day [4] . Chromatographic identification criteria were based on chromatographic retention parameters and in 1970 Donike published a study for the reproducibility of the retention times [5] . In this preparative for the OG study, Donike suggested the use of autosamplers and identical equilibration times between each chromatographic run, in order to improve retention reproducibility. As it was published after the end of the 1972 OG [6] , the retention time reproducibility was better than 0.2%. The NPD-based stimulant screen developed by Donike is still in use in some WADA laboratories, today 40 years 1550 Bioanalysis (2012) 4(13) later. The 1972 IOC Prohibited List is presented in Box 1 [4] . The 1972 Munich OG anti-doping organization resulted in 11 positive cases and the reported prohibited substances were: ephedrine (three cases), methamphetamine, dimethylamphetamine, nikethamide (two cases), amphepramone, amphetamine, phenmetrazine and norephedrine [4] . 1976 Montreal OG The organizational progress of the Olympic anti-doping system was continued with the 1976 Montreal OG: IOC Medical Commission acquired a daily working experts committee; a training program for the anti-doping sample collection officers; and, a coordination department for the logistics of the tests and the samples chain of custody – practices that are all followed today. But the most important progress was the inclusion in the analytical repertoire of the anabolic– androgenic steroids (AAS) [7] , probably one of the most powerful performance-enhancing pharmacological classes of compounds. In 1975, the St Thomas’s Hospital Medical School team of Brooks published a method for the detection of AAS by radioimmunoassay (RIA) [8] , which was applied to the analysis of 275 out of 1800 future science group Analytical progresses of the IOC & WADA Olympic laboratories Montreal OG samples. The method was detecting the 17a-methyl and 17a-ethyl AAS. Despite the fact of its 2–3 day duration for completion, it was followed because of its higher sensitivity and lower cost compared with the GC–MS method. Obviously, the contribution of the instrumental and the manpower cost to the total cost of analysis were different in the 1970s than today. The antiserum sensitivity for the 17a-methyl AAS was 5 pg. Among the detected AAS were norethandrolone, ethylestrenol, methyltestosterone, methandienone, stanozolol, fluoxymesterone, oxandrolone, clostebol, mestanolone, methandriol and oxymetholone. Analysis was performed in urine in the unconjugated or hydrolyzed conjugated fraction. An unacceptable crossreactivity to testosterone higher than 5% resulted in an additional preparative step, which was the acetylation of testosterone with acetic anhydrite. The 17a-alkylated AAS remained underivatized due to presence of the bulky methyl or ethyl group. The testosterone acetate had no crossreactivity with the antisera. Another antiserum was produced for the detection of 19-nortestosterone and the method was run without acetylation [9] . RIA suspicious samples underwent GC–MS confirmatory ana lysis [10] , which resulted in eight positive samples. The GC–MS reported AAS concentrations of higher than 50 ng/ml in the seven of them. The GC–MS method was based on Amberlite XAD-2 column cleanup, enzymatic hydrolysis by Helix Pomatia juice, another one XAD-2 extraction, Sephadex LH-20 fractionation and O-trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatization analyzed in MAT 112 GC–MS [3] . 1980 Moscow OG The 1980 Moscow OG anti-doping analysis suffered from the technological embargo of the US government to the instruments to be sold to the USSR. The RIA method of Brooks [8] combined with two HP5840/5985 GC–MS machines were used for the anti-doping analysis. 1984 Los Angeles OG The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Olympic laboratory was equipped for the first time in OG anti-doping analysis with a full set of GC and GC–MS machines [11] . The repertoire of analysis comprised screening for the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone and the synthetic AAS clostebol, dehydrochloromethyltestosterone, mesterolone, oxandrolone, oxymetholone, methenolone, future science group | R eview Box 1. The International Olympic Committee Prohibited List for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Psychomotor stimulants Ethylamphetamine, amphetamine, benzphetamine, cocaine, diethylaminopropiophenone, dimethylaphetamine, fencamphetamine, methylamphetamine, methylphenidate, norpseudoephedrine, phendimetrazine, phenmetrazine, prolintane and related substances. Sympathomimetic amines Ephedrine, methylephedrine, methoxyphenamine and related substances. Various stimulants of the CNS Amiphenazol, bemegrid, leptazol, nikethamide, strychnine and related substances. Narcotics & analgesics Dextromoramide, dipipanone, heroin, methadone, morphine, pethidine and related substances. Data taken from [4]. nandrolone, methandienone, methyltestosterone, methandriol, mestanolone, norethandrolone, fluoxymesterone and stanozolol. Here, it is important to mention that the TMS derivatization protocol developed by Donike and Zimmermann for the conversion of the keto-steroids to pure isomerically enol O-TMS steroids using the trimethyliodosilane catalyst [12] was used. This development allowed the improvement of the GC behavior of the ketosteroids, reducing their polarity and improving chromatographic stability. UCLA developed the method for the analysis of b-blockers, but at the last minute IOC decided not to include them in the repertoire of the OG analyses. It is worthy to mention that the routine anti-doping analysis, as described in [11] , was used by all the IOC-accredited laboratories for more than the next 10 years, with only the addition of diuretics analysis incorporated. 1988 Seoul OG In the 1988 Seoul OG, new elements were added to the routine anti-doping analysis: screening for diuretics in HPLC and diode-array UV detection [13,14] , a Laboratory Automation System [13] , QC regulations of the GLP specifications [15] and screening for corticosteroids in thermospray LC–MS [16] . The mass spectra of the corticosteroids comprised the m/z (MH)+, (MH)+ -18, (MH)+ -60, (MH)+ -30 and ammonium adducts (MNH4)+. However, despite all those substantial progresses of the anti-doping OG analysis, what attracted attention was the announcement that the Olympic winner of the athletics 100-m distance run, Johnson, was found to be positive for use of the AAS stanozolol. The detection of stanozolol metabolites was based on the work www.future-science.com Key Terms Trimethylsilyl derivatization: Derivatization for the GC analysis that converts polar molecular groups, such as hydroxyl, to nonpolar groups by the substitution of the hydrogen atom with a Si-(CH3)3 group. This way, the chromatographic behavior is improved. Ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone: Indirect marker of exogenous administration of testosterone, based on the quantitation of testosterone and its epimer epitestosterone. Ratio mean population value is one. World Anti-Doping Agency Code sets the ratio threshold to four. 1551 R eview | Georgakopoulos, Saugy, Giraud, Robinson & Alsayrafi conducted by the Cologne laboratory [17] and the relevant study of the Seoul laboratory [18] . Before the Cologne study, stanozolol detection in human urine was based on the detection of the parent compound, whose detectability is quite short compared with the well-known hydroxylated metabolites (WADA-accredited laboratories today do not include the parent stanozolol in screening procedures, since it is useless compared with the detection of the hydroxylated metabolites). 1992 Barcelona OG The 1992 Barcelona OG anti-doping control was directly related to the detection of the first of a series of Soviet stimulants – the mesocarb. This detection was accompanied by another progress; the mesocarb confirmation analysis was based on the use of LC–MS technology for first time, using a particle-beam interface to generate electron ionization mass spectra [19] . Screening analysis of mesocarb was performed by HPLC–UV, in the same analytical procedure as for the diuretic class. GC–MS confirmation analysis of mesocarb artifact was also performed. Similar to the mesocarb, the LC–MS confirmation analysis was also developed for diuretics [20] . Another interesting substance reported in positive samples during the 1992 OG was clenbuterol, the veterinary b2-agonist with increasing popularity for its anabolic action in cheating athletes, but also with epidemiological records in Catalonia in 1992 [21] . The following literature references constitute a thorough presentation of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic laboratory [22,23] . In those references, information is related to the 1992 Barcelona OG laboratory concerning the new building, the staff and its organizational structure, instrumentation related to the analytical methodologies, computer network system, reagents, quality assurance aspects, a summary of the analytical methodologies and the results. Especially in the results section [22,23] , the wealth of the analytical parameters per sample recorded during the OG can be concluded. The organizational structure of the laboratory was completed by the custom-made Laboratory Information Management System [24,25] . The Laboratory Information Management System was able to organize the thousands of samples, aliquots, tubes and autosampler vials involved in the daily workload of the Olympic laboratory, to generate reports/working forms, to prepare instrumental sequences of sample analyses and to follow all cases requiring repeats, investigations of 1552 Bioanalysis (2012) 4(13) suspicious analytical findings, confirmations and almost every kind of laboratory activity. Numerical reading was performed through the barcode system. This system was so successful that its descendant is still in use in the Barcelona laboratory today. 1994 Lillehammer winter OG Two important advancements were applied by the Oslo laboratory for the 1994 Winter OG in Lillehammer: blood analysis for the detection of the nonautologous blood transfusions and highresolution MS (HRMS) coupled with GC [3] for the detection of synthetic AAS in low concentrations in urine. Blood collection for detection of nonautologous blood transfusions was based on the detection of the blood groups of the allogenic transfused erythrocytes [26] . The method was new and used microtubes filled with gel containing agglutinating antibodies to the erythrocyte’s antigens: the erythrocytes with negative antigens could pass through the microtube with the respective antibody, while erythrocytes with expressing antigens remained at the top of the gel. The method could detect AB0, Rh, K and Jk blood groups, while for other blood groups, such as Fy and MNSs and for confirmatory analyses, the classic microscopic approach was followed. The microtube method could detect transfused blood of the afore-mentioned blood groups at a range of 1–5%. GC–HRMS was introduced in order to increase the detection window of AAS abuse in periods chronologically far from the expected in-competition testing [27] . The GC– HRMS was the result of progress made in the instrumental electronics and the MS geometry itself. GC–HRMS constitute a magnetic analyzer coupled with one or two electrostatic analyzers. The accelerating voltages can reach up to 10 kV and the mass resolution in 5% peak valley in GC–MS measurements can reach up to 40,000. The mass resolution is defined as the ratio of the mass m/z to the difference between that mass m/z and the next mass m/z, when these two consecutive masses m/z can be separated at an in-between valley of 5% (or 10%) of their respective peak profiles [27] . In a wellcalibrated GC–HRMS, the drop of the signal of the background noise is multiple to the drop of the signal of the compound of interest, such a phenomenon results in a significant increase in the S/N and, consequently, the limit of detection. The GC–HRMS instrument of the Oslo laboratory was a magnetic sector Finnigan MAT 95 coupled with a HP5890 GC, with routine future science group Analytical progresses of the IOC & WADA Olympic laboratories resolution capability of 3000–5000 in 10% peak valley definition of the MS resolution, also described in [27] . The instrument could easily analyze entire batches of samples for AAS at a concentration of less than 10 ng/ml of urine. Based on this technology, the IOC Medical Commission decided some years later (1996) to introduce specifications for the detection of certain AAS metabolites to the Olympic movement Anti-Doping Code, such as the long-term stanozolol metabolite 3´-hydroxy-stanozolol, at a concentration of 2 ng/ml of urine for all anti-doping samples. 1996 Atlanta OG The Atlanta OG laboratory was programmed to implement the carbon isotope 13C/12C ratio MS analysis (GC–C–isotope-ratio MS [IRMS]) to identify origins of naturally occurring AAS, such as testosterone and metabolites, but eventually the method, developed by Becchi and collaborators [28] , was not used. However, the 1996 OG anti-doping reports created another surprise – detection of another new Soviet stimulant: bromantane [29] . 1998 Nagano Winter OG For the Nagano OG, GC–C–IRMS was introduced for the first time. The Tokyo IOCaccredited laboratory developed the method to detect dihydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) abuse among others [30,31] . An interesting collection of data presented in [31] concerns the d values of AAS originating from pharmaceutical preparations, food supplements and reference material providers. Those data proved the validity of the GC–C–IRMS technology. During the OG, all samples were analyzed by GC–C–IRMS methodology, an approach that has not been repeated since. Another interesting progress the Tokyo laboratory implemented, in collaboration with the Barcelona IOC-accredited laboratory, was the development of the method for the discrimination of oral versus inhaled salbutamol in human urine [32] . This method tried to solve the problem of the extensive use of b2-agonists in the winter sports for medical reasons. Eventually, the method was not officially approved because of the complexity of the analysis and the statistical evaluation of the data. 2000 Sydney OG Recombinant EPO became available in the middle of 1980s and was popular with cheating athletes for its capacity to induce erythropoiesis future science group and increase the transfer of oxygen to the muscles, while becoming undetectable relatively quickly compared wtih the length of time over which it enhanced endurance performance. EPO was placed on the IOC Prohibited List in 1990, but until its detection became a reality, 10 years passed: “The Olympic movement yesterday announced measures to trace the use of the previously undetectable drug EPO,” wrote the UK newspaper The Telegraph on 2 August 2000 [103] . Another article of the same newspaper, published on 29 August 2000, 2 weeks before the 2000 OG Opening Ceremony, referred to: “Selected competitors will be asked to give a sample of blood and if they refuse, even on religious grounds, they will be excluded from the Games” [104] . This announcement was one of the most important issues of the 2000 OG: the athletes that did not agree to the blood collections had to leave the OG. This new test for EPO was one of the most important elements of the atmosphere of the 2000 Sydney OG. The test of EPO implemented from the Sydney IOCaccredited laboratory was the combination of two individual methods that were both applied for the first time: the blood test for the calculation of the blood ON/OFF models and the urine test for the measurement of the distribution of the EPO isoforms. The blood test was a funding of the Australian government and IOC to Australian government analytical laboratories, the parent organization of the Sydney IOC-accredited laboratory, to introduce new technologies and tests for the OG. The studies were conducted with volunteer athletes who were divided in groups with or without administration of EPO and/or iron supplementation and had blood samples taken. Several blood parameters were measured and statistically processed. These studies led to the validation of the first-generation of the ON- and OFF-score models, using data from the athletes. The ON model, when applied to data from an athlete, could indicate that they were still in the phase of application of EPO. The OFF model provided data that indicated that the athlete had stopped using EPO [33] . The ON model was based on the blood parameters of EPO, hematocrit (Hct), reticuloc yte Hct (which is a function of % reticulocytes, red blood cells count and mean cell volume of reticulocytes), the soluble transferrin receptor (sTfr) and percent Macro (percentage of cells with mean cell volume higher than 120 fl), while the OFF model was based on the first three of the above parameters. www.future-science.com | R eview Key Term Blood ON/OFF models: Indirect markers of EPO abuse, constituted by functions of hematological parameters, indicating EPO abuse close to the testing (on) or late abuse (off) developed initially for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. 1553 R eview | Georgakopoulos, Saugy, Giraud, Robinson & Alsayrafi Key Terms Novel erythropoiesisstimulating protein (NESP): Also known as darbepoetin a, is produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells and is marketed under the names of Aranesp ® and Nespo ®. NESP is a hyperglycosylated analogue of EPO that contains two novel N-linked sialic acid-containing carbohydrate side chains. Homologous blood transfusion: Allogeneic or homologous refers to the transfusion of blood of another ABO-compatible person and Rhesus D blood groups in order to increase red blood cells and oxygen transfer to muscles, in particular in endurance sports. hGH: Growth hormone that is secreted throughout life mainly by the pituitary gland and acts through the specific growth hormone receptor. The growth hormone receptor is expressed in almost all tissues of the human body. It is synthesized and abused by athletes for anabolic action. 1554 The main achievement of this study was that when the multiple indirect markers of the altered erythropoiesis are used simultaneously, they can identify current or recent EPO use. Another big heritage of the 2000 Sydney OG, which also opened the anti-doping analysis to a new technology and made EPO a detectable drug, was the isoelectric focusing (IEF) method of the direct detection of recombinant EPO isoforms in urine, developed by Lasne and de Ceaurriz in the Paris IOC-accredited laboratory [34] . An isoform of EPO is a subset of the EPO molecules that has a defined charge mainly due to the differences in the carbohydrate side chains. The method was based on that developed by Lasne for the double-blotting protocol [35] and allowed IEF separation and discrimination of synthetic to endogenous EPO isoforms. Recombinant EPO (rEPO) was synthesized in Chinese hamster ovary cells and has modifications in the isoforms compared with human endogenous EPO that is synthesized in the kidney. The modifications affect the electrical charge allowing the IEF separation. Before the Sydney OG, in a meeting held in Lausanne early in August 2000 with the participation of the Australian and French researchers, the IOC decided that neither process was going to be sanctioned on its own and a procedure that required both the blood data of the ON model as well as the IEF to be undertaken was required before a sample could be reported as positive. If both met the parameters required to declare EPO use, then a positive result could be reported. The OFF model was not accepted as an indicator of EPO use, which, on its own, could result in a positive finding. No adverse results were reported from the OG, but a number of blood results indicating ‘outliers’ in scores for both the ON and OFF models were reported to the IOC and subsequently the International Federations for future follow-up. In the 2 years following the Sydney 2000 OG, further work by the Australian Institute of Sports using data from the previous studies allowed modification and refinement of the models with the development of the second-generation ON- and OFF-score models [36] . It is interesting that in the following years, WADA reassessed the IEF procedure and declared that it could be used independently of the blood test and that it was a standalone test, and subsequently produced the Technical Document to support it [105] . The ON model has not had further acceptance, but the new-generation OFF model is now part of the Bioanalysis (2012) 4(13) Athlete’s Biological Passport [37] . 11 years after the models development for the 2000 Sydney OG, in March 2011, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled against the cyclists Pellizotti and Caucchioli, not because they failed drug tests or were nabbed in a criminal investigation – the conventional ways athletes are caught for doping – but because, indirectly, several changes in their blood signaled that they had illicitly manipulated their blood to improve performance [106] . 2002 Salt Lake City Winter OG The 2002 Salt Lake City Winter OG presented another challenge for the IEF method of Lasne [34] , because the new long-lasting rEPO Aranesp® (novel erythropoiesis-stimulating protein [NESP] ) had just come out in the pharmaceutical market. Following is an extract from an article on ABC News on 8 February 2002: “Anti-doping agencies hope to have a reliable test for Aranesp ready by the 2004 Summer OG in Athens” [107] . Obviously, some participant athletes of the 2002 OG believed these articles. The case of one athlete, the 50-km cross-country skier Muehlegg, ended in the CAS in Lausanne on 24 January 2003 as follows: “In their decisions, the three arbitrators considered that: Darbepoetin (Aranesp) is a substance analogue and mimetic of rEPO and is therefore a prohibited substance; n The direct urine test is valid for the detection of Aranesp as it is valid for the detection of rEPO; n The presence of Aranesp in the human body can be established with certainty by the urine test, considering that darbepoetin cannot be produced naturally; accordingly, there is no risk of confusion between Aranesp and natural EPO; n The EPO test method used by the Salt Lake City laboratory is in accordance with the prevailing standards of the scientific community and the particular urine test performed on Muehlegg’s sample was properly conducted by the laboratory” [108] . n The IEF method in the period between August 2000, when it was not considered a standalone method of detection of EPO, and February 2002 had acquired the fair scientific respect to be applied to a synthetic EPO, such future science group Analytical progresses of the IOC & WADA Olympic laboratories as NESP, without being named in the IOC Prohibited List of 2002, which was unfortunate for the cheating athletes. The UCLA IOC-accredited laboratory, which ran the temporary IOC-accredited laboratory at Salt Lake City for the 2002 OG period, had developed methods for the IRMS analysis of endogenous steroids, such as epitestosterone [38] . Epitestosterone is prohibited not because of its anabolic action – it is inactive – but because of its use by cheating athletes to hide testosterone abuse through the distortion of the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone. This particular method is one of first where a HPLC cleanup step was introduced in the IRMS preparative steps to remove interferences to the measured d values of steroids [28] . 2004 Athens OG The first implementation of the WADA Anti-Doping Code (International Standard for Laboratories, version 3.0, published in June 2003) in a major event was during the 2004 Athens OG. The WADA Code became the worldwide anti-doping specification on 1 January 2004, and replaced the IOC Olympic movement Anti-Doping Code for the everyday/ everywhere anti-doping application. An overview of the analytical methods and results of the 2004 Athens anti-doping analysis is presented in [39] . The structure and organization of the Athens Olympic laboratory were presented in [40] . The hematological profile parameters ana lysis and validation had been included in the scope of the ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation of the Athens laboratory. The validation report of the analysis for reticulocytes has been presented in [41] . The validation parameters comprised linearity, precision, uncertainty, intermediate and long-term precision, comparability with other analyzers, effect of drift, carryover, stability and accuracy. LC–MS/MS technology (ion trap) was used for the first time at an OG for all samples. For the first time also, direct urine injection methods were used for quantification of the ephedrines, morphine and salbutamol [42] . The chromatographic systems used for the direct urine injection quantitation were the same as for the LC–MS/MS screening method in order to avoid loss of time in conditioning from the one chromatographic system to another. After the norbolethone [43] and the THG [44] stories, the UCLA laboratory revealed the circulation of another designer steroid, MADOL [45] . Some days before the OG period, the Athens laboratory future science group | R eview was provided by the WADA-accredited UCLA laboratory with the information and the reference standard to screen for this steroid. However, no positive sample was reported based on the steroid. Apart the new Anti-Doping Code, in the 2004 Athens OG three new analytical technologies were used to test for prohibited pharmacological classes in blood (except for homologous blood transfusions that were tested for at the 1994 Winter OG by gel chromatography). One of the new methods used by the 2004 Athens OG laboratory was the detection of hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers (HBOCs) [46–48] . A quick screening of blood samples for HBOCs is based on colorimetric detection, since use of HBOCs causes discoloration of the plasma. For the suspect samples, electrophoretic analysis or size exclusion HPLC followed, and for bovine an additional LC–MS confirmatory analysis is completed [46–48] . During the implementation of the colorimetric methodology, it became apparent that there was a need to increase the specificity to avoid unnecessary activation of both the chromatographic methods for hemolyzed plasma samples. An additional ultrafiltration step was added in the colorimetric, electrophoretic and HPLC methods in order to remove any free hemoglobin. Due to HBOCs chemistry, which is based on intra- or inter-molecular crosslinked hemoglobin with molecular weight higher than 200 kDa, the ultrafi ltration step can visually distinguish hemolyzed against positive HBOC plasma samples [49] , saving valuable laboratory resources, since no one sample underwent confirmatory analysis in the OG period. Moreover, the LC ion-trap analysis provided full-scan MS/MS capabilities of the bovine-based HBOC peptides in order to improve the specificity. The second new method used by the 2004 Athens OG laboratory concerned the detection of the synthetic recombinant hGH (rhGH) in serum samples, a method developed by Strasburger and coworkers [50] . The so-called isoform method is based on the detection of rhGH isoforms. Endogenous pituitary GH occurs in multiple isoforms; approximately 70% of circulating GH is in the form of a 22-kDa polypeptide, 5–10% as a 20-kDa isoform and the rest as dimers, oligomers and acidic, desaminated, acylated and fragmented forms of GH, whereas the rhGH comprises exclusively the 22-kDa isoform. When rhGH is administered, endogenous pituitary secretion is inhibited through negative feedback and an increase to the 22-kDa isoform www.future-science.com 1555 R eview | Georgakopoulos, Saugy, Giraud, Robinson & Alsayrafi relative to other non-22-kDa isoforms occurs. Statistically, an increased proportion of 22-kDa GH is attributed to GH administration. The isoform method relies on measurement of GH isoforms by two pairs of antibodies specific to either 22-kDa GH or pituitary-derived hGH. The current isoform method is described in the WADA guidelines [109] . The 2004 method was based on the same pairs of antibodies 1B3/5D7 and 8B11/8A9 as the contemporary method, but the basis of measurement was fluorescence immunoassays. In Figure 2 , the negative and positive controls for one of the pair assays, the 8B11/8A9, are presented. In Figure 3, distribution of OG 2004 samples ratios according to the gender of sample and the assays used are presented. The isoform GH assays throughout the 2004 OG period run in an excellent way and the blood samples were clearly negative. The third new method used by the 2004 Athens OG laboratory concerned the detection of homologous blood transfusion (blood transfused from a human donor with ABO blood group compatibility) in whole blood samples. The method was developed by Nelson and 16 14 ng/ml or ratio 12 n = 26 CV% = 13.9 10 8 6 n = 26 CV% = 12.1 4 2 0 ve iti s Po ve iti s Po O IO AT R T PI EC R e l tiv si g/m Po n I AT R ive at eg N T PI ive l at /m eg ng N EC R ive l at /m eg ng N Figure 2. Distribution of positive and negative controls of the 8B11/8A9 assays through the 2004 Olympic Games period. The horizontal lines in the box denote the 25th, 50th and 75th percentile values. The error bars denote the 5th and 95th percentile values. The two symbols below the 5th percentile error bar denote the 0th and 1st percentile values. The two symbols above the 95th percentile denote the 99th and 100th percentiles. The square symbol in the box denotes the mean of the column of data. The definitions of the terms REC, PIT and RATIO can be found in [109] . 1556 Bioanalysis (2012) 4(13) co-workers [51,52] . The method was transferred and developed in the Athens OG laboratory in collaboration with the colleague WADAaccredited laboratory of Lausanne and the Genimatas Hospital of Athens [42] . One of the first amendments to the original Australian method [52] , which was decided in Athens, was the implementation of the method as qualitative and not quantitative, in order for the validation and accreditation procedures to be facilitated. The same approach for the method is followed today (detection of homologous blood transfusion [53,54]). The three new technologies applied at the 2004 OG completed their anti-doping validation shortly before the opening of the OG, therefore creating a complex logistical situation. In the plan of the blood collection containers, serum and whole-blood tubes were planned to be sealed in the same sample container at the collection site. It is well known that serum and whole blood have different storage conditions: freezing and refrigerating, respectively. However, in order to facilitate the logistical implementation of the new methods so close to the opening of the OG, taking into account this conflicting storage conditions, the decision was taken to give priority to store the whole blood first (refrigerating) and then the serum sample (freezing), to protect hGH. Retrospectively, several practical issues would have been avoided if, simply, another 200–300 containers would have been used to store whole blood and serum in separate tubes, an additional marginal expense in comparison with the entire OG anti-doping program. The blood transfusion method was developed in the Athens laboratory during July 2004, very close to the OG period. The Athens laboratory was participating in proficiency testing schemes organized by the laboratory loop of Athens– Sydney–Lausanne. Unfortunately, on the day of the Opening Ceremony (13 August 2004), some contradictory discussions on the interpretation of the last proficiency test took place. Even though within hours such discussions were found to be based on a misunderstanding by one of the experts involved, they had already created a situation in which a positive case was observed by the Athens laboratory on a blood sample, but could not be reported as such. The sample was collected on the 19 August 2004 from the US cyclist and Olympic winner Hamilton, but because the Athens laboratory had no time to have the blood-transfusion method fully accredited under the ISO accreditation process future science group Analytical progresses of the IOC & WADA Olympic laboratories 0.7 5D7/1B3 8B11/8A9 0.8 0.6 Ratio assay 1:2 | R eview 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.1 Female average: 0.36 SD: 0.11 n = 91 Male average: 0.39 SD 0.13 n = 123 Female average: 0.46 SD: 0.18 n = 61 Male average: 0.48 SD: 0.23 n = 108 Figure 3. Olympic Games 2004 samples ratios distribution according to gender of sample and the assays used. The horizontal lines in the box denote the 25th, 50th and 75th percentile values. The error bars denote the 5th and 95th percentile values. The two symbols below the 5th percentile error bar denote the 0th and 1st percentile values. The two symbols above the 95th percentile denote the 99th and 100th percentiles. The square symbol in the box denotes the mean of the column of data. All Olympic Games 2004 samples were clearly negatives. (a situation that would have created a legally weak position in case of an appeal in court), it was decided that the case be reported to the IOC as a negative, but with suspicions of blood transfusion, rather than a positive. Then, in line with the established procedure, to store the sealed containers with the serum and frozen whole blood; the A and B samples were moved to the freezer some days after reporting, to preserve the serum for retrospective hGH analysis. When the IOC asked on 15 September 2004 for Hamilton’s B sample to be analyzed in the Lausanne Laboratory, the red blood cells in the whole-blood sample were destroyed, which prevented proper reanalysis of the sample and Hamilton kept the 2004 OG gold medal. In the meantime, in September 2004, Hamilton was already targeted by WADA and the International Cycling Union, based on the previous suspicious sample in Athens when he participated in the 2004 Tour of Spain competition. Due to the erythrocytes’ long life in the blood, homologous blood transfusion can be detected over a similarly long period of time. In the 2004 Tour of Spain competition, Hamilton was also tested in blood and reported positive for blood transfusions by the Lausanne Laboratory. For this positive case, Hamilton was given a 2-year ban from the US Anti-Doping Agency. Hamilton appealed this verdict to CAS, but on the basis of the Lausanne results and with the support future science group of the Athens data, the appeal was rejected on 10 February 2006 [110] . It is worthy to mention that later, on 20 May 2011, after a life ban from sports due to a second positive finding on the steroid dehydroepiandrosterone, Hamilton admitted his doping case in Athens and surrendered the 2004 Athens OG medal [111] , and this first blood transfusion positive case was closed definitely. Besides the Hamilton case, in the Athens 2004 OG five athletes, two Greeks and three Hungarians, were excluded from the OG and banned from competing, without a positive antidoping sample, due to irregularities in the collection procedure or manipulating the samples. These five cases, the Hamilton case and the 23 reported positives from the Athens 2004 OG laboratory made a total of 29 doping cases, which set a record of anti-doping cases for the OG. Among the 23 reported positive samples were the first two positives for endogenous steroids based on IRMS. Another one of the reported positive cases was based on the stimulant heptaminol, but it was an eventually proven that the heptaminol substance was artifact of the stimulant isometheptene, used originally by the athlete [55] . A number of the Athens 2004 OG positive results were based on synthetic AAS detected in concentrations 10- to 100-times below the WADA Minimum Required Performance Limits [112] , analyzed with GC–HRMS operating www.future-science.com 1557 R eview | Georgakopoulos, Saugy, Giraud, Robinson & Alsayrafi routinely in resolutions of 10–20 K (in 5% peak valley MS resolution definition in the Waters Autospec Ultima [Manchester, UK]). It is well justified in historical books that women were not competing in the ancient OG, they could not even enter the stadium in Olympia as spectators [1] . Women competed in the stadium in Olympia for the first time in 2004 during the Athens OG, taking part in the shot-put. The anti-doping control proved that the first winner of the first women’s competition in the Olympia stadium in history, was positive for the steroid stanozolol (among the low concentration positive samples as for above). In Figure 4, the screening chromatogram for this sample is presented. In 2004, for the first time the IOC implemented an 8-year storage of Olympic samples for future reanalysis. Intensity (0–100%) Intensity (0–100%) Intensity (0–100%) 2006 Torino Winter OG Continuing the 1998 Tour de France practice of the French police, Italian police raided the Austrian athletes’ quarter in search of evidence of doping during the 2006 OG period. The raid was conducted due to suspicions over the presence of the biathlon coach Mayer, who had been banned from all Olympic events due to previous doping convictions. Around the time of the raid, Mayer and two Austrian biathletes tried to escape and flee back to Austria. The samples that were collected from the rest of the athletes in the team after that event were all reported as negative. Even in the period during the preparation of this article, this case has not been finalized in the status of an official publishable report. In the analytical part of the 2006 Torino Winter OG, the Torino OG laboratory was a satellite laboratory of the Rome WADA-accredited laboratory. The Rome laboratory developed an LC–MS to detect a large number of prohibited substances from different classes, proving the analytical capacity and the multitrace character of this technology [56] . Especially for the homologous blood transfusion analysis and, due to insufficient time for its implementation, it was decided that a satellite Lausanne WADA-accredited laboratory unit be set within the 2006 Winter OG laboratory. The relocation of the homologous blood transfusion activity required a lot of organization. Some of the personnel, reagents and instruments were transferred for nearly 1 month to Torino. This was the minimum time necessary to settle and crossvalidate the method. Then the Swiss Accreditation Service came to audit the laboratory and activities to give the official approval. After accreditation, a total of 153 blood samples were analyzed. Time (min) Time (min) Intensity (0–100%) Intensity (0–100%) Time (min) Time (min) Time (min) Figure 4. The Olympia stadium, for first time in history, opened to a women’s competition – the Athens 2004 Olympic Games athletics shot-put – and the gold medalist reported positive for the steroid stanozolol. Screening chromatograms are shown. (A) Methyltestosterone (internal standard; m/z 446.3036), (B) 16β-OH stanozolol (anabolic androgenic steroid stanozolol metabolite; upper m/z 560.3650, below m/z 545.3415) and (C) 3’-OH stanozolol (anabolic androgenic steroid stanozolol metabolite; upper m/z 560.3650, below m/z 545.3415). 1558 Bioanalysis (2012) 4(13) future science group Analytical progresses of the IOC & WADA Olympic laboratories 2008 Beijing OG The partnership between WADA and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies was desired to reduce the gap between the marketing of a drug with potential doping properties and its detection by anti-doping laboratories. WADA, Roche and the Lausanne laboratory decided together the right strategy to have a test implemented as soon as possible. Well before the drug was available on the market, an ELISA test was designed for anti-doping requirements. Finally, a fully validated and accredited test was implemented in the Lausanne laboratory in summer 2008, approximately 6 months after the release of the continuos EPO receptor activator (CERA) on the European market (drug name: | R eview Key Term Continuos EPO receptor activator (CERA): A PEGylated form of epoetin b (NeoRecormon ®), a methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin b. This synthetic EPO has a prolonged life in the human body. Table 1. Summary of the progress of the Olympic laboratories. Olympic Games (year) Summary of progress Munich (1972) Montreal (1976) Los Angeles (1984) Seoul (1988) Barcelona (1992) Lillehammer (1994) Atlanta (1996) Nagano (1998) Sydney (2000) Salt Lake (2002) Athens (2004) Torino (2006) Beijing (2008) The beginning of the contemporary anti-doping system GC–NPD screening of stimulant and narcotics, method still in use in several WADA-accredited laboratories Use of autosamplers in GC–NPDs Studies for GC retention parameters reproducibility RIA steroids screening GC–MS steroids confirmation All samples analyzed for steroids including ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone GC–MS steroids analysis with O-TMS, enol-TMS derivatives GC–MS benchtop as modern instrumentation b-blockers screening (but not eventually applied to Olympic Games) LIMS LC–MS for corticosteroids Stanozolol metabolites Mesocarb: the first of a series of Soviet stimulants LC–MS confirmations of mesocarb and diuretics Homemade LIMS Clenbuterol detection Blood collections Homologous blood transfusion detection using immunoaffinity columns GC–HRMS for steroids Bromantane: the next in the Soviet stimulants series GC–C–IRMS analysis Salbutamol: oral or inhaled application discrimination EPO indirect detection with ON/OFF models on hematological parameters EPO direct detection of isoforms on IEF bands NESP positives despite the rumors of undetectable EPO GC–C–IRMS on epitestosterone WADA Anti-Doping Code Homologous blood transfusion using flow cytometry Recombinant hGH using the isoforms detection in fluorescence immunoassays HBOCs detection using filtered serum colorimetric, electroforetic, HPLC and LC–MS/MS analysis LC–MS/MS screening analysis of all samples LC–MS/MS direct urine injection for salbutamol, ephedrines and morphine MADOL: another one of the US series of designer steroids Positive steroid cases on IRMS ISO17025 validation/accreditation of hematological analyzers First ever women’s competition in Olympia stadium Olympic record in doping cases: 29, 23 laboratory positives. five disqualifications and one admission (after 7 years) IOC stores the Olympic samples for 8 years Multitrace LC–MS/MS analysis for almost all class of prohibited small molecules CERA detection at the end of Olympic Games in Lausanne – Paris WADA laboratories Continuous reference in the analysis of prohibited substances with LC–MS does not mean that the GC–MS analysis is outdated. This reference is originated by the fact that the LC–MS analysis is a newer technology compared with GC–MS and relatively more progress has been made. C–IRMS: Combustion–isotope ratio MS; CERA: Continuos EPO receptor activator; HBOC: Hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier; HRMS: High-resolution MS; IEF: Isoelectric focusing; IOC: International Olympic Committee; IRMS: Isotope-ratio MS; LIMS: Laboratory Information Management System; NESP: Novel erythropoiesis-stimulating protein; NPD: Nitrogen–phosphorus detector; RIA: Radioimmunoassay; TMS: Trimethylsilyl; WADA: World Anti-Doping Agency. future science group www.future-science.com 1559 R eview | Georgakopoulos, Saugy, Giraud, Robinson & Alsayrafi MIRCER A®). This period corresponded to the Summer OG in Beijing. Unfortunately, the test could not be put in place for the 2008 OG because of a lack of time. At that moment, it was decided to ship all serum samples to Lausanne at the end of the OG and have them reanalyzed just for the detection of CERA. In the meantime, a confirmation test was developed by the Paris anti-doping laboratory [57–59] . The collaboration between the Lausanne and Paris laboratories and the reanalysis of the 1190 OG blood samples resulted in eight positive cases. This work was possible thanks to an agreement between WADA, Roche (MIRCERA producers) and the Lausanne laboratory. This collaboration was officially initiated on the 23 June 2006 and the method was fully validated at the end of 2008. Conclusion In Table 1, a summary of the analytical progresses performed by the OG laboratories since 1972 is presented. This progress, to be implemented, required the collaboration of the laboratory, IOC and WADA scientists to overcome the stressful environment of the periods before the OG. In a few months, the 2012 London OG will be held. The heritage of the methods of the indirect doping detection of the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone of Donike [60] and the ON and OFF models of the 2000 Sydney OG [33] is in place. The science is preparing to apply a new indirect detection method of GH abuse through the markers approach [61] , which is complementary to the existing isoform method [54] applied in the 2004 Athens OG. The legal support for the GH indirect method has already been prepared [62] and introduced to the WADA Code [113] : “Presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers in an Athlete’s Sample.” For 2788 years (776 + 2012) of written OG history, the OG remain a human mega event and the anti-doping system is ready to protect this heritage by making continuous progress. Future perspective OG currently are and will continue to be a sports mega event. The fight against doping is a continuous need, which will not end in the coming future. The threat of the degradation of the sports impact maximizes during the OG due to the publicity of the event and the concentration of the entire family of elite athletes. In this framework, the Olympic laboratories shall apply all the latest technological progresses to cover the gap between doping and anti-doping and protect the sports from degradation. As the doping practices are shifting from ‘exogenous’ to the ‘endogenous’ human organism, more indirect methods will become routine tools for the WADA-accredited laboratories. Acknowledgements C Georgakopoulos wishes to thank P Simitsek and ME Spyridaki for the hGH data presentations and friends from the World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratories who assisted in writing this article. Executive summary The Olympic Games (OG) is a mega sports event, which brings the biggest family of elite athletes together and huge publicity, but there is also a great threat to sport because of doping. Olympic laboratories face the challenges of the introduction of new technologies into their analytical repertoire and of the multiplication of their analytical capacity in volume and in time. The anti-doping organization of the Munich OG of 1972 was the beginning of the modern anti-doping system. The GC–nitrogen–phosphorus detector method developed by Donike is still in use in World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratories. In the 1976 Montreal OG, the most challenging class of prohibited substances, anabolic steroids, started to be detected. International Olympic Committee-accredited laboratories in Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992 created the tradition of the highest analytical quality work in the most demanding environment of the OG. The application of the isoelectric focusing electrophoretic method for EPO ended the story of the undetected substance in Sydney 2000. In Sydney 2000, ON/OFF models were developed that were the basis for indirect blood detection methods and the Athlete’s Biological Passport. Athens 2004 had an OG record in doping with 29 positive cases, and in regard to new methods to be applied, three new technologies were setup. Retesting of negative samples to apply new technologies became a reality with the detection of the continuos EPO receptor activator in samples at Beijing 2008. The London 2012 Olympic laboratory faces the new challenge of indirect methods in the fight against doping – indirect markers to detect abuse of growth hormone. 1560 Bioanalysis (2012) 4(13) future science group Analytical progresses of the IOC & WADA Olympic laboratories Financial & competing interests disclosure The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. 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