Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Rapid Screening of S1-Class Anabolic Agents.

Abstract

The abuse of S1-class anabolic agents poses significant health threats to athletes and is strictly prohibited by World Anti-Doping Organization (WADA). In this study, we developed a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method based on silver coated gold nanostars (GNS@Ag) core-shell nanoparticles for the rapid screening of four representative S1 agents: danazol, fluoxymesterone, zilpaterol, and androsterone. The synthesized nanomaterials feature sharp plasmonic hotspots that afford substantial SERS signal enhancement, enabling detection limits as low as~10-5 to ~10-7 g/mL. Owing to the fingerprint specificity of Raman spectroscopy, the method distinguishes different analytes and their mixtures by characteristic peak patterns. Coupled with principal component analysis (PCA), the approach enables robust discrimination of anabolic agents. Successful application to spiked milk samples demonstrates good recovery, rapid response, and practical utility, highlighting the potential of this SERS strategy as a promising tool for on-site anti-doping screening.

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