Identification of darbepoetin alfa in human plasma by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for doping control.

Darbepoetin alfa (DPO) or Novel Erythropoiesis Erythropoiesis Stimulating Protein (NESP), an analog of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO), is abused as a blood doping agent along with the latter in human sports. This paper describes a new method for unequivocal identification of DPO in human plasma. The analyte was extracted from plasma by immunoaffinity separation with anti-rhEPO antibodies, digested by trypsin followed by PNGase F, and analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry.