Potential of desorption electrospray ionization and paper spray ionization with high-resolution mass spectrometry for the screening of sports doping agents in urine

In this work, desorption electrospray ionization and paper spray ionization both with high-resolution mass spectrometry (DESI-HRMS and PSI-HRMS) were explored for the fast and direct analysis of stimulants and diuretics in urine samples. The analysis was performed at a resolution of 70 000 FWHM (m/z 200) using a quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer in full scan acquisition mode, detecting stimulants and diuretics in positive and negative ion modes, respectively. The most critical parameters affecting the desorption and ionization efficiencies of compounds were optimized, paying particular attention to the optimization of the spray solvent for PSI-HRMS analysis and to the selection of the DESI sample substrate. For stimulants, the PSI-HRMS method performed better than DESI-HRMS, allowing the direct analysis of raw urine samples with better signal-to-noise ratios than DESI. However, results obtained for diuretics were not as satisfactory as we expected. The PSI-HRMS method was applied to the screening of 52 stimulants for doping control purposes, providing satisfactory detectability for most of them at the Minimum Reporting Level (MRL) in less than 2 minutes for each single analysis. Despite the advantages offered by the PSI-HRMS method, in this study is also included a discussion on the limitations observed because of the presence of interference for some compounds.

Automated summary

In this study, desorption electrospray ionization and paper spray ionization coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (DESI-HRMS and PSI-HRMS) were used for fast and direct analysis of stimulants and diuretics in urine samples. The PSI-HRMS method performed better for the analysis of stimulants compared to DESI-HRMS, allowing direct analysis of raw urine with better signal-to-noise ratios. However, the results for diuretics were not as satisfactory as expected.