Have you ever wondered how they test for steroids and blood doping in sports? In our brief explainer, we’ll go over how international agencies and competitions ensure the integrity and fairness of their games and more.

How Are Athletes Tested for Steroids & Blood Doping?

Unfortunately, performance-enhancing drugs like anabolic steroids and blood doping are problems in many sports leagues and international competitions, but how do they test for steroids in sports? The World Anti-Doping Agency and International Olympic Committee have to strive for a fair playing field, so there are many methods and techniques for identifying illegal substances.

The most common and often most accurate testing technique is a combination of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. These two analytical methods offer the most sensitive and accurate detection methods for illegal blood doping and performance-enhancing drugs.

What Is Blood Doping?

You’ve probably heard the term “blood doping” regarding athletics and athletes, but what does it mean? Blood doping increases the blood’s ability to carry oxygen—giving athletes greater aerobic endurance and capacity.

Athletes will use blood transfusions of their blood, or someone else’s, to increase their body’s red blood cell count and oxygen capability. It’s an effective and almost undetectable enhancement method. Still, tests can identify it by analyzing an athlete’s red blood cell size from two different periods and ensuring they’re the same and haven’t artificially increased.

What Is Mass Spectrometry?

Mass spectrometry is a standard analytical method in scientific testing for athletes, but what does mass spectrometry mean? A brief overview of mass spectrometry is that it measures the molecular weight of unknown compounds in a sample.

By figuring out the molecular weight of a sample, chemists and researchers can better identify and characterize compounds, including foreign substances, in an athlete’s blood. But it’s not just used for sports testing. Other applications for mass spectrometry include:

• Carbon dating
• Food contamination detection
• Pesticide residue analysis
• Protein identification

What Is Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry?

Mass spectrometry is often combined with gas chromatography in steroid and blood doping testing, but what does that mean? Gas chromatography separates a sample’s smaller, more volatile organic molecules like hormones, alcohol, and steroids.

Gas chromatography separates the compounds, while mass spectrometry gathers data and identifies the compounds via their molecular weight. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry combine for a sensitive, accurate, and efficient testing method for foreign enhancements and blood doping in an athlete’s system.