Dried blood spot analysis in antidoping: Technical challenges, analytical advances, and future perspectives

Abstract Dried blood spot (DBS) analysis is a sample collection strategy that requires minimal volume of blood while providing practical advantages such as a simple collection procedure, enhanced sample stability, and efficient transport and storage. Due to these benefits, DBS has been applied in newborn screening, therapeutic drug monitoring, and pharmacokinetic studies for clinical and life sciences. Recently, the potential of DBS has gained attention for antidoping; therefore, the World Anti‐Doping Agency (WADA) has advanced the introduction and application of DBS‐based analytical approaches as a complementary strategy to conventional urine and venous blood samples. Consequently, various studies have been conducted for the development of high‐sensitivity analytical methods for prohibited substances, evaluation of DBS sampling devices, and the advancement of sample preparation focused on overcoming matrix‐related challenges. The development of DBS analysis and its clinical applications are overviewed, followed by a discussion of the rationale for its adoption in antidoping analysis and WADA's strategy. The challenges in DBS sampling and instrumental analysis were also investigated comprehensively, and recent advances in addressing limitations were also investigated. The analysis of steroid esters and other methods for substances in WADA technical documents was mainly focused on, and emerging approaches for erythropoietin and its markers in blood doping. Perspectives for the DBS analysis in antidoping operation in the large sports events were discussed.