Receptor-based screening assays: New perspectives in anti-doping control

The so-called "growth promoters", steroid hormones and beta-agonists, are currently controlled by using hyphenated analytical methods (chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry) or, sometimes for screening purposes, on immunoassays. These methods are often too specific to allow an effective multianalyte control. To develop more efficient assays, the use of hormonal receptors as detection tools (receptor-based binding assays and cell-based assays) is proposed. Receptor-based assays represent useful tools in screening of hormonal residues in food, but they could also be applied in doping control (to detect "new" hormonal substances). Furthermore, these assays could be used to monitor the human exposure to endocrine disruptors.