Doping control in Japan. An automated extraction procedure for the doping test

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Forensic Science

Background:

• Horse racing in Japan involves national and regional systems with approximately 2,500 annual meetings.
• Dope testing is crucial, requiring analysis of urine or saliva samples from top-finishing horses.
• Traditional analytical methods for detecting doping agents were time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement an automated extraction procedure for doping drug analysis in horse racing.
• To improve the efficiency and throughput of sample analysis in equine drug testing.
• To present analytical data obtained from the newly developed automatic extractor.

Main Methods:

• Development of an automatic extractor for chloroform extraction of alkalinized samples.
• Implementation of pH adjustment using buffer solutions and efficient organic solvent evaporation.
• Utilized thin-layer chromatography, ultra-violet spectrophotometry, gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry for analysis.

Main Results:

• The automatic extractor successfully automates the extraction of doping drugs from horse urine samples.
• Three automatic extractors can process 120 samples per hour, significantly increasing analytical throughput.
• Analytical data generated by the automatic extractor demonstrated its efficacy in routine work.

Conclusions:

• The automated extraction system represents a significant advancement in equine drug testing efficiency.
• This technology enhances the capacity for comprehensive dope testing in Japanese horse racing.
• The developed methods provide reliable data for maintaining the integrity of horse racing.