Study of a Possibility of the Direct Determination of Xenon in the Equilibrium Vapor Phase of Whole Blood and Plasma Samples by GC-MS/MS after Inhalation by Healthy Volunteers

In recent years, the use of xenon as a modern inhalation anesthetic has become more and more attractive because of its minimal side effects and its intra-/postoperative neuro-, cardio-, and renoprotective properties. Recent studies have demonstrated that this is due to the inhibition of norepinephrine reuptake, an increase in the production of a specific regulatory protein, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and, therefore, the secretion of the hormone erythropoietin. Given the pharmacological properties of this gas, there is a probability of its use by some athletes to gain competitive advantage. Therefore, the purpose of this article was to study the fundamental possibility of the direct, simple, and specific determination of xenon in the equilibrium vapor phase of whole blood samples from healthy volunteers ( n = 10) by a GC-MS/MS triple quadrupole system in the selective reaction monitoring (pseudo-SRM) mode m / z 129 → 129, 131 → 131, 132 → 132 after five-day gas inhalation procedures with a xenon-oxygen mixture 25 : 75 (v/v). Three characteristic isotopes with the highest intensity were selected for the determination, which made it possible to unambiguously detect an inert gas by the above-mentioned method. This approach can be used to detect the inert gas from WADA Prohibited List in whole blood samples collected under the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) program.