LIPOSOMES: DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM OR POSSIBLE DOPING AGENT?

The use of liposomes as drug delivery vehicle for treatment of various diseases is well known in medical field but its possible role as a masking agent in sports came into light when Liposom Forte® was found stored together with banned and non-banned drugs during investigations carried out by Italian legal authorities and recent availability of IGF-1 Liposomal Spray on internet. Role of liposomes as masking agent for anabolic steroids in the field of doping has been investigated by Botre et al. The aim of the present work was to study the effect of different parameters like temperature, pH, charge, time, concentration etc. on the interaction of liposomes and doping agents and to identify a possible marker for detection of their abuse in sports. The results showed that out of variety of doping agents, the direct addition of liposomes to urine samples containing anabolic steroids shows strong tendency to interact with the liposomes which results in the reduced concentration of the compound in the sample. However, there was no significant effect of temperature and incubation time on the interaction of liposome and doping agents while other parameters such as charge and concentration of liposome affect the interaction capacity. Keywords: WADA, Liposomes, DopingÂ