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Updated: May 30, 2026
High-throughput and Comprehensive Drug Surveillance Using Multisegment Injection-Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry
Published on: April 23, 2019
SARM-S4 and metabolites detection in sports drug testing: a case report
Elia Grata1, Laurent Perrenoud, Martial Saugy
1Swiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses, University Center of Legal Medecine, Geneva and Lausanne, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, Ch. des Croisettes 22, 1066 Epalinges, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Recently, pharmaceutical industry developed a new class of therapeutics called Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARM) to substitute the synthetic anabolic drugs used in medical treatments. Since the beginning of the anti-doping testing in sports in the 1970s, steroids have been the most frequently detected drugs mainly used for their anabolic properties. The major advantage of SARMs is the reduced androgenic activities which are the main source of side effects following anabolic agents' administration. In 2010, the Swiss laboratory for doping analyses reported the first case of SARMs abuse during in-competition testing. The analytical steps leading to this finding are described in this paper. Screening and confirmation results were obtained based on liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analyses. Additional information regarding the SARM S-4 metabolism was investigated by ultra high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (UHPLC-QTOF-MS).
