Abstract

Since the development of an analytical method for the direct detection of the application of recombinant erythropoietin in urine samples by Lasne et. al. (Nature, 2000, 405, 635), much effort has been devoted in order to implement the method in different laboratories and to standardize and harmonize the interpretation of the data obtained by isoeleetric focusing, double blotting and chemiluminescence detection. The use of different software products with different tools of data interpretation interfered the search for a common basis of gel interpretation. Austrian Research Centers is an R&D institution with a rich record of multidisciplinary projects. Among other research and scientific branches, it also includes an accredited Doping Control Lab (DCL) and an IT department, nowadays known as smart-systems. These two expert teams have been collaborating successfully since a couple of years on development of a software for quantitative analysis of electrophoretic images. ARC Seibersdorf research prepared a proposal for an international project aimed at development of a professional, reliable and easy-to-use software package specially tailored for quantification of epo gel images. The proposal was submitted to World Anti-Doping Agency which approved it as a three-years project, 2004-2006. The product of the project contributed directly to the aim of standardization and harmonization of the epo analytics. An effective epo-analytics expert network has been created. Scientific know-how in these areas has been extended and disseminated via a number of scientific publications. The GASepo software included several mathematical methods based on patented solutions. WADA-funded research in doping control has been promoted by a number of project-related presentations for broader public. The high dissemination rate of the GASepo software proves to the aim of standardization and harmonization. Aus dem Text