Belfast Summit on Global Food Integrity, ASSET 2018, Belfast, United Kingdom

Emiliano attended the Belfast Summit on Global Food Integrity (ASSET) on May 2018 with a poster presentation entitled “A semi-quantitative UHPLC-MS/MS assay to detect SARMs in urine samples”.

Poster presentation abstract: selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) are an emerging class of performance-enhancing chemicals, many of which are in drug development phases of investigation as potential therapeutics for a variety of clinical indications. SARMs, in comparison to anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS), exhibit higher tissue-selectivity for the androgen receptor, lack of undesirable androgenic-side effects, and are orally bioavailable. These properties together with associated anabolic effects including increases in mass density of bone and muscle underline why SARMs have gained recent popularity as drugs of abuse. As a consequence of the possible use of SARMs in illicit practises, analytical strategies are required that can be applied both in animal sports to monitor for doping practices, and in farm livestock to ensure food is free from related contaminating residues. In this study, a semi-quantitative UHPLC-MS/MS method was developed to monitor the misuse of 15 SARM compounds belonging to eight different families, in bovine, equine and canine urine, respectively, following liquid-liquid extraction with TBME. The method was validated according to the Community Reference Laboratories Residues (CRLs) 20/1/2010 guidelineswith CCβ values determined at 1 ng mL^-1, excluding andarine (2 ng mL^-1) and BMS-564929 (5 ng mL^-1), in three different species. This rapid, simple and cost effective semi-quantitative assay is currently being employed for screening of bovine, equine and canine urine to determine the potential level of SARMs abuse in stock farming and competition animals, ensuring consumer safety and fair play in animal performance sports.