Direct and Indirect Detection Methods and Biomarkers in Anti-Doping Sciences

About this Research Topic

Background

Providing clean athletes the possibility to compete in a fair, secure and respectful environment is the main purpose of the Anti-Doping struggle. In order to reach this objective, a key element of the fight against doping is the capacity to detect, with the highest possible accuracy, the recourse to prohibited substances and/or methods by the analysis of the athlete’s biological samples.

Doping practices can be highlighted either by direct detection of a banned substance and/or its metabolites, or by indirect detection of the influence on selected biomarkers of the use of a banned substance or method. More recently, the limitations of direct detection methods motivated the development of further indirect testing methods, for example, the use of the Athlete Biological Passport

Practices in anti-doping science are influenced by the longitudinal evaluation of both direct and indirect detection methods. However, several confounding factors have a significant influence on the actual biomarkers and detection methods, such as altitude, heat exposure, or the intake of non-prohibited substances. Thus, the need to develop further testing protocol, new detection methods and discover new pertinent biomarkers is growing continuously.

Notwithstanding, the selection of new biomarkers is not an easy task, as specificity and sensitivity are crucial in the anti-doping paradigm to avoid the probability of false-positive results. Moreover, the inter-and intra-individual variability is of great importance and has to be studied carefully to really strengthen the discrepancies between clean and doped athletes.

The aim of this Research Topic is to further explore indirect and direct detection methods in anti-doping, including biomarker discovery, verification, and validation. We particularly welcome Original Research, Method, and Review papers which also include new insight and information on the implementation of said detection methods. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Methods of indirect and direct doping detection
• External factors influencing biomarkers and detection methods
• Testing protocol and application in anti-doping sciences
• New biomarkers or metabolites used to detect banned substances

Keywords: detection methods anti-doping, indirect methods, direct methods, biomarkers, anti-doping science

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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