Direkt zum Inhalt
Startseite

Dedicated to discovery

  • Über ELGA
    • Über ELGA
    • Karriere
    • Veranstaltungen
  • Service
    • Laborplanung
  • Kontakt
  • EN
  • ES
  • FR
  • IT
  • PT
  • EN-US
Startseite
  • Produkte
    • PURELAB
      • PURELAB® Dispenser
      • PURELAB® Flex
      • PURELAB® Quest
      • PURELAB® Pharma Compliance
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1 Complete
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1
      • PURELAB® Chorus 2
      • PURELAB® Chorus 3
      • PURELAB® Chorus 2 +
    • CENTRA
      • CENTRA® R60/120
      • CENTRA® R200
      • CENTRA® RDS
    • MEDICA
      • MEDICA® 150
      • MEDICA® 7/15
      • MEDICA® BIOX 2024
      • MEDICA® Pro-R & Pro-RE
      • MEDICA® R200
      • MEDICA® EDI 15/30
      • MEDICA® Pro-LPS
      • MEDICA® Pro EDI 60/120
      • MEDICA BIOX
      • Hubgrade
    • BIOPURE
      • BIOPURE® 300/600
    • PURENERGY 30
    • Komplette Produktpalette
  • Anwendungen
    • Allgemeiner Laborwasserbedarf
    • Atomspektroskopie
    • Elektrochemie
    • Flüssigchromatographie
      • High Performance Liquid Chromatography
    • Gaschromatographie
    • Genetik
    • High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
    • Immunchemie
    • Klinische Biochemie
    • Massenspektrometrie
    • Mikrobiologische Analyse
    • Spektrophotometrie
    • Zellkulturen
  • Technologien
    • Aktivkohle
    • Elektroentionisierung (EDI)
    • Filtration
    • Ionenaustausch
    • PureSure
    • Ultraviolettes Licht (UV)
    • Umkehrosmose (RO)
  • Verunreinigungen im Wasser
    • Anorganische Verbindungen
    • Gelöste Gase
    • Mikroorganismen und Bakterien
    • Organische Verbindungen
    • Partikel
  • Wissen
    • BROSCHÜREN
    • Blog
    • Referenzen
    • Reinstwasser
    • Whitepaper rund um Laborwasser
  • Where to buy
  • Kontakt
Home
  • Kontakt
  • Produkte
    • PURELAB
      • PURELAB® Dispenser
      • PURELAB® Flex
      • PURELAB® Quest
      • PURELAB® Pharma Compliance
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1 Complete
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1
      • PURELAB® Chorus 2
      • PURELAB® Chorus 3
      • PURELAB® Chorus 2 +
    • CENTRA
      • CENTRA® R60/120
      • CENTRA® R200
      • CENTRA® RDS
    • MEDICA
      • MEDICA® 150
      • MEDICA® 7/15
      • MEDICA® BIOX 2024
      • MEDICA® Pro-R & Pro-RE
      • MEDICA® R200
      • MEDICA® EDI 15/30
      • MEDICA® Pro-LPS
      • MEDICA® Pro EDI 60/120
      • MEDICA BIOX
      • Hubgrade
    • BIOPURE
      • BIOPURE® 300/600
    • PURENERGY 30
    • Komplette Produktpalette
  • Anwendungen
    • Allgemeiner Laborwasserbedarf
    • Atomspektroskopie
    • Elektrochemie
    • Flüssigchromatographie
      • High Performance Liquid Chromatography
    • Gaschromatographie
    • Genetik
    • High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
    • Immunchemie
    • Klinische Biochemie
    • Massenspektrometrie
    • Mikrobiologische Analyse
    • Spektrophotometrie
    • Zellkulturen
  • Technologien
    • Aktivkohle
    • Elektroentionisierung (EDI)
    • Filtration
    • Ionenaustausch
    • PureSure
    • Ultraviolettes Licht (UV)
    • Umkehrosmose (RO)
  • Verunreinigungen im Wasser
    • Anorganische Verbindungen
    • Gelöste Gase
    • Mikroorganismen und Bakterien
    • Organische Verbindungen
    • Partikel
  • Wissen
    • BROSCHÜREN
    • Blog
    • Referenzen
    • Reinstwasser
    • Whitepaper rund um Laborwasser
  • Where to buy
  • Kontakt
  • Über ELGA
    • Über ELGA
    • Karriere
    • Veranstaltungen
  • Service
    • Laborplanung
  • Kontakt
  • EN
  • ES
  • FR
  • IT
  • PT
  • EN-US
  • Datenschutzerklärung
  • Geschäftsbedingungen
  • Globale Entsprechenserklärungen
  • Patente
  • Trademarks
  • Impressum
  • Fighting Doping In Sport: The Importance Of Ultrapure Water For Drug Testing
Water Purity
Analytical Chemistry

Fighting Doping In Sport: The Importance Of Ultrapure Water For Drug Testing

26 Jan. 2020
- by ELGA Editorial Team

Sprinter taking off from starting block on running track

Sport is not always a level playing field because some athletes take illegal performance-enhancing drugs. Such “doping” can not only give athletes advantages over others and potentially impact upon the reputation of sport, but it can also carry serious health risks.

As such, worldwide anti-doping organizations enforce testing for banned substances in athletes, which often includes the use of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the highly sensitive analysis of drug testing samples. Yet, ultrapure water is essential for the effective operation of HPLC. So, how can labs prevent water contamination to ensure the reliable detection of prohibited drugs in sport?

Fighting Doping In Sport

Illegal performance-enhancing drugs range from stimulants that increase blood flow and heart rate, such as amphetamines and cocaine, to hormones that increase muscle bulk, strength, and oxygen-carrying red blood cells, such as erythropoietin (EPO) and testosterone.

Doping is considered problematic by many sporting organizations worldwide, because it is perceived to give athletes unfair advantages and can cause severe health risks. For example, EPO and stimulants can increase the risk of having a stroke or heart attack, which could be fatal.

Doping in sport is combated across the world by anti-doping organizations under the guidance of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which was formed in 1999 after shocking revelations of widespread doping in cycling. Under its World Anti-Doping Code, WADA stipulates a list of banned substances in seven categories: androgens, blood doping, peptide hormones, stimulants, diuretics, narcotics, and cannabinoids.

Detecting Doping At Sporting Events

Testing competing athletes for traces of prohibited substances is implemented by anti-doping organizations to identify and discipline athletes who use banned drugs, as well as to deter others from doping. In-competition testing involves collecting samples of an athlete’s urine and/or blood over a time period starting 12 hours prior to a sporting competition until its end.

After collection, the biological samples are analyzed in the laboratory for any banned substances. They are also stored so that untraceable substances can be detected in the future by improved analytical methods, as in the International Olympic Committee’s recent retroactive disqualification of three medal winners at Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

An important technique used for the highly sensitive detection of banned substances in athletes’ urine and plasma samples is high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Liquid Chromatography For Doping Tests

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in sport doping tests involves passing a pressurized “mobile phase” containing an athlete’s urine or plasma sample, as well as water and solvents, through an adsorbent column. The sample components interact differently with the adsorbent particles, and so flow differently to become separated from each other.

For example, HPLC can be used to detect various banned diuretics, such as acetazolamide and bumetanide. Diuretics increase the frequency of urination, which allows doping athletes to flush out traces of other illegal substances to falsely pass drug tests, and reduces their weight to increase their speed and agility.

HPLC is a highly regarded method for the detection of diuretics and other banned substances in sport, because it is highly sensitive, efficient, affordable, and adaptable. However, laboratories must ensure that the mobile phase is free from contaminants for effective HPLC operation.

Ensuring Water Purity In Drug Testing

Water contaminants in the mobile phase of HPLC, such as ions, particulates, organics, and bacteria, can cause multiple problems with data output, including: variable retention times; loss of resolution; tailing, ghost, adduct, or negative peaks; and noisy baselines or baseline drift.

A build-up of contaminants can also produce backpressure in the HPLC system, causing columns to fail or explode, and ultimately shortens column life and leads to system shutdown.

Therefore, laboratories must have troubleshooting practices in place to prevent water contamination, ensuring effective HPLC operation for reliable drug testing. Here are some of our recommended best practices:

  • Use ultrapure water (Type I+ water) freshly prepared from an in-house filter system, change filters regularly, and discard the first couple of liters of freshly prepared ultrapure water;
  • Don’t use plastic tubing or storage containers. Use dedicated glassware for storage and clean it regularly using HPLC-grade solvents (methanol or acetonitrile) and ultrapure water;
  • For more rigorous cleaning, use sonicate with 10% formic acid or nitric acid, then repeatedly rinse with water and solvents. Don’t use detergents;
  • Prevent ultrapure water absorbing contaminants from the atmosphere by homogenizing, de-gassing, and filtering the mobile phase daily;
  • If contamination occurs, autoclave all containers, replace all filters and tubing, and purge the system using mobile phase solvents overnight.

If you want to know more about ultrapure water, or have any enquiries you wish to pose, do

contact us here.

  • Sales Enquiry
  • Angebot anfordern
  • Technical Support
  • Einen Ansprechpartner finden

Sales Enquiry

At ELGA LabWater, we have exciting offers and news about our products and services that we hope you’d like to hear about. We will use your information to predict what you might be interested in. We will treat your data with respect and you can find the details in our Privacy Policy.

ELGA LabWater works with a network of Approved Partners. In order to answer your questions or enquiries, we may pass your contact details to an Approved Partner, who may contact you directly. 

Ich habe die Datenschutzerklärung gelesen und verstanden

Angebot anfordern

At ELGA LabWater, we have exciting offers and news about our products and services that we hope you’d like to hear about. We will use your information to predict what you might be interested in. We will treat your data with respect and you can find the details in our Privacy Policy.

ELGA LabWater works with a network of Approved Partners. In order to answer your questions or enquiries, we may pass your contact details to an Approved Partner, who may contact you directly. 

Ich habe die Datenschutzerklärung gelesen und verstanden

Technical Support

At ELGA LabWater, we have exciting offers and news about our products and services that we hope you’d like to hear about. We will use your information to predict what you might be interested in. We will treat your data with respect and you can find the details in our Privacy Policy.

ELGA LabWater works with a network of Approved Partners. In order to answer your questions or enquiries, we may pass your contact details to an Approved Partner, who may contact you directly. 

Call us

Can't find what you are looking for?

Support Number
+44 (0)20 3567 7300
United Kingdom Sales
+44 (0)1628 879 704
United States of America Sales
+1 877-315-3542
France Sales
+33 1 40 83 65 00
China Sales
+86 400-616-8882

 

ELGA LabWater Deutschland

ELGA LabWater
Veolia Water Technologies Deutschland GmbH
Speicherstraße 14 A
29221 Celle
T: +49 (0) 51 41 803 0
F: +49 (0) 51 41 803 384

Referenzen

  • Abbott Diagnostics
  • DASA Medical Diagnostics
  • NeoDIN Medical Institute
  • North Staffordshire NHS Trust
  • Berufskolleg Olsberg

Ressourcen

  • Erfahren Sie mehr über Reinstwasser
  • Whitepaper rund um Laborwasser
  • Technologien zur Wasseraufbereitung
  • Laboranwendungen
  • Verunreinigungen im Wasser
  • Latest Blog
  • Water Purity - Different Types of Pure Water
  • What is Clinical Laboratory Reagent Water (CLSI)?
  • What is Total Organic Carbon (TOC)?

© VWS (UK) Ltd, handelnd als ELGA LabWater.2025- Alle Rechte vorbehalten.
ELGA ist der globale Markenname von Veolia für Laborwasser.

  • Datenschutzerklärung
  • Geschäftsbedingungen
  • Globale Entsprechenserklärungen
  • Patente
  • Trademarks
  • Impressum
  • Sprache
    • Deutsch
    • English
    • Español
    • Français
    • Italiano
    • Português
    • 日本語
    • 中文
  • Andere Veolia Webseiten
    • Veolia
    • Veolia Foundation
    • Veolia Water Technologies
Elga Veolia
TOP

© 2017 ELGA Veolia