Analysis of synthetic 19-norsteroids trenbolone, tetrahydrogestrinone and gestrinone by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Tetrahydrogestrinone, gestrinone and trenbolone are synthetic 19-norsteroids with androgenic properties sharing a labile conjugated ketotrienyl motif. Their LC–MS analyses tend to overcome classical derivatization problems, a shortcoming to the use of GC–MS. Therefore, alternative derivatization procedures were evaluated. The procedure with methoxylamine: pyridine followed by TMSImid: MSTFA gave the best results. This is attributed to the stability of the MO-TMS derivatives hindering the formation of artifacts and tautomerism. A full method is presented including SPE, hydrolysis and liquid–liquid extraction. It was possible to confirm the analytes below 2 ng/mL in urine, being the method robust and cost effective also for screening proposes.