Testing for anabolic steroids in human nail clippings

Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone, and their abuse can have numerous health consequences. Identification of this group of drugs has found applications in forensic toxicology, clinical situations, psychiatric disorders, and of course, anti-doping violations. Although anabolic steroids are generally tested in urine and very occasionally in head hair, collectors can face the lack of standard specimens, and therefore, nail clippings can be the unique alternative choice. Although there is no possibility to perform segmental analyses using nail clippings, the window of drug detection is generally much longer in nail when compared to head hair (particularly in male subjects), that is, 3-8 months and 4-12 months for finger and toenail clippings, respectively. A new method was developed, including nail pulverization in a ball mill, sonication for 90 min in methanol, and a combination of liquid-liquid and solid-phase extractions, followed by gas and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. To document the application of steroid testing in nail clippings, the authors present 6 authentic cases of abuse, involving stanozolol (7 and 24 pg/mg), nandrolone (6 pg/mg), trenbolone (26, 67, 81, and 89 pg/mg), drostanolone (8 and 11 pg/mg), and testosterone enanthate (14 pg/mg). Given concentrations were always in the low pg/mg range, the use of tandem mass spectrometry appears as a prerequisite.