This new system benefits from online solid phase extraction (SPE), as opposed to offline SPE. | Courtesy Dr. Terence S.M. Wan

No more need to imagine it. Hong Kong researchers are already there. “The short run time (of our new method) enables a high throughput with minimal labor requirements and is especially useful in time-critical operations such as pre-race analysis,” said Terence S.M. Wan, PhD, EurChem, CSci, CChem, FRSC, FAORC, FCSFS, head of the racing laboratory and chief racing chemist at The Hong Kong Jockey Club.

This new system benefits from online solid phase extraction (SPE), as opposed to offline SPE. SPE is a popular sample preparation technique that essentially isolates dissolved target components (such as drugs) from the liquid they’re dissolved in (in this case, urine) as well as from the naturally occurring components. “Online,” despite what the name sounds like, doesn’t mean the analyses are carried out via the internet or wireless technology. Online SPE means the process from extraction to analysis is automated, with the samples being run automatically through the “line” of analytical equipment without human intervention.

Offline SPE, by contrast, works via extraction cartridges that laboratory technicians have to manipulate themselves (like cartridge conditioning, sample filling, elution, evaporation, and introducing the extract onto the equipment line). While offline SPE might have some advantages in other kinds of laboratory analyses, the system is labor-intensive and time-consuming. In horse racing and other equestrian events that involve testing and reporting prior to competition, time and simplicity matter—and online SPE appears to be the way to go