Urine Testing to determine use of
Physically Enhancing Drugs
Jonathan Mertz
William Kou
Argument
• Urine testing is a valid method of determining
whether athletes have been using illicit drugs,
and whether the urine sample has been
tampered with.
Overview of the Kidney and Why Urine
is a good representation of Substances
in the Body
• The kidneys are the body’s filtration system. It uses a
highly permeable blood vessel system which allows
wastes, metabolites, water, toxins, and excess
substances to exit the blood vessel.
• The Kidneys then reabsorbs the metabolites and water
which can be reused and circulated through the blood.
• This leaves the toxins, waste and excess substances
which the body does not require.
• Among these, physical enhancement drugs such as
Steroids can be found.
Urine Collection
• Any athlete participating in a sports event
supervised by WADA must be subject to a
random urine analysis test.
• During collection, there must be a witness
present as well as a Doping Control Officer who
retains the right to have the athlete remove or
adjust any clothing which would impede sample
provision
• The sample is then sealed into two tamper
evident bottles, totaling a minimum of 90 mL of
sample
Other Collection Requirements
• “WADA accredited laboratories are required […]
to analyze a minimum of 3000 doping samples
provided annually by code compliant testing
authorities.”
• Athletes are required to complete a medical
declaration which “states all medicines, drugs and
substances taken over the last week.”
• The samples are required to be kept for a
minimum of 3 months after the sample was
taken.
Lab Testing
•
•
•
•
•
•
Specific Gravity Test
GC/MS
Urinary Dipstick Test
1D-Gel Electrophoresis
DNA Typing
LC-MS/MS Analysis
Urinary Dipstick Test
• A screening test which provides easy
determination of a sample’s specific gravity,
among other factors.
Gel Electrophoresis
Cases of Tampering Attempts
• An unremarkable urine sample was run through
the screening process (GS-MS/NPD) and found to
have none of the hormones which are expected in
human urine. The sample was submitted to an
ethanol test and determined to be dealcoholized
beer.
Red Urine Samples
• Three urine samples were obtained which were a
somewhat uncommon red color.
• After screening tests, one of the samples was
shown to have blood in it, the others went on to
further tests.
• After LC-MS, the results showed that Betanin (the
dye from beets) was the cause of the red color of
the urine.
• It was determined that the sample was not
tampered with
Famous Athletes Caught Using Urine
Test
• Ben Johnson
• Caught with Stanozolol,
which is an anabolic steroid, in
his urine .
• Alberto Contador tested positive for
Clenbuterol in his urine
• Bryan Berard tested positive for
Norandrosterone in a urine test
• Floyd Landis was caught with abnormally high
levels of testosterone in his urine.
Techniques used
•
•
•
•
•
Specific Gravity Test
Urinary Dipstick Test
1D-Gel Electrophoresis
DNA Typing
LC-MS/MS Analysis
• Steroids take roughly 30 days to completely
leave the body