Anabolic Steroids - Chemistry Final Project

Statistics

The “Monitoring the Future”: in a survey in 1999, it was revealed that as much as 479,000 students worldwide or 2.9% of total student population had used one or other steroid by the last year of high school.

"Steroid Statistics"

Rogol

Chemical Properties

Physical Properties

The conformation of atoms in testosterone is quite stable. Given its large size, testosterone consists of very few reactive areas. The atom consists of mostly carbon-carbon single bonds and carbon-hydrogen single bonds, both bond types being unreactive.

Testosterone is simply composed of only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. It is considered a very heavy molecule given its molecular mass to be 288.4 atomic mass units. Its melting point is 311 degrees Fahrenheit. At room temperature, testosterone is solid if purified.

Statistics

Hendrickson, Helmstine

Statistics

Hendrickson

The CDC (Center of Disease Control and Prevention) survey in 2001, 5% of all high school students admitted that they took steroids without a qualified doctor’s approval and prescription. In addition to that, 5.8% of 8th graders, 4.9% of 10th graders, and 4.3% of 12th graders admitted a lifetime of illegal usage of steroids. In 1993, one in 45 high school students used anabolic steroids. By 1999, one in 27 high school students used anabolic steroids. Today, one in 16 high school students admit using anabolic steroids.

All the above statistics clearly show that the young population is showing a bent for steroids in aim to enhance their body performance and build muscle mass.

The statistics also relate to an increase in use of steroids due to the accessibility. Today steroids are easily accessible without prescription on the Internet, mail orders, health shops and gymnasiums. This easeness of accessibility has contributed to the overall usage of steroids, especially in high school and college students.

"Steroid Statistics"

"Steroid Statistics, Rogol"

Statistics

What are Anabolic Steroids?

The 2002 “Monitoring the Future” study revealed that there has been a significant rise in the number of steroids among the school age children community from 1991-2002. In this survey, 22% of 8th graders, 33.2% of 10th graders and 46.1% of 12th graders said that it is “fairly easy” for them to obtain steroids.

Anabolic steroids are molecular-altered derivatives of testosterone, the male hormone responsible for the build up of muscles. They are named for their ability to stimulate anabolism, which increases protein synthesis in muscles. Athletes take extra to enhance this effect. The molecular formula for testosterone is C19H2802. Anabolic steroids promote growth and have other masculine-enhancing properties such as growth of vocal cords, testicles, and increased body hair. They also manipulate the levels of chemicals the body already produces. They can be taken orally (pill) or injected.

"Steroid Statistics"

Ophardt, Collins, "Anabolic Steroids and Muscles, Helmstine

Ophardt

What are they made up of?

Steroids in general are synthesized from cholesterol. Testosterone is entirely composed of only three elements: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

Collins, Hendrickson

Anabolic Steroids

Mariam AlMarzouq

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How does it work in the human body?

There are two ways to take steroids: pills (orally), or by injection. This process is called absorption. By taking the pill orally, the pill bypasses the digestive process. Like food, it goes through the stomach and small intestine. The acids break down the pill and the drugs are then carried trough the small intestine and liver before entering the bloodstream. When injected however, it directly enters the bloodstream.

The second process is called distribution. Distribution is simply the drug moving through the bloodstream. It is in this process the steroids begin their work. Testosterone acts as a chemical messenger to the body. The cells in a human body has receptor sites, areas that are responsive to free-floating molecules in the bloodstream. A steroid molecule being carried along the bloodstream enters the muscle cell and binds to one of the receptor sites. The connection that it forms allows the steroid molecule to deliver its message to the receptor site to affect certain changes within the cell (protein synthesis). Once the steroid molecule delivers its command, it moves on to other receptor sites and repeats this process until it is converted into another compound or excreted in urine.

How do they look like?

"How Steroids Work in the Body

All steroids share the same basic four-ring carbon structure, but differ when looked at specifically. A testosterone molecule is tetracyclic, or has a tetracyclic base structure. The structure consists of four separate rings of carbon atoms attached to one another.

Collins, Khan, Peterson, "How Steroids Work in the Body."

Zack

Statistics

Usage of steroids in today’s society is no longer restricted to body builders and professional sportsmen. The usage of steroids is catching up with school and college-going children and even business professionals. One of the contributing factors is the fact that they are easily available over Internet, health food stores, gymnasiums, and through mail orders.

Zack, Hendrickson

"Steroid Statistics.", Rogol

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Solubility

Testosterone is a fat-soluble hormone from a family of lipids. It cannot dissolve in water because it is a lipid and is only soluble in non-polar solvents.

Side Effects

Learn Your Lipids

Anabolic steroids have many harmful side effects to the human body and health. There are dangerous side effects include changes in cholesterol levels, which can be dangerous to the heart, prostate tumors, clotting disorders, high blood pressure and liver problems. Psychologically, they can make a person more aggressive. There are also some cosmetic side effects such as baldness, increased body hair, acne, and breast growth in men.

Ophardt, "Anabolic Steroids and Muscles."

Why do people take them?

What type of reaction do they create?

The anabolic effects are popular for sports performance and cosmetic appearance. Some females use it to reduce body fat, but its main use is to enhance body performance, decrease muscle recovery time and build muscle mass.

Mass Spectrometry

Mass Spectrometry cont.

Anabolic steroids create anabolic reactions, which is synthesis. Anabolic reactions involve the joining of smaller molecules together to form larger, more complex molecules. Anabolism (anabolic reactions) require energy in the process of creating larger, more complex molecules. The body uses simple molecules to create complex ones. Anabolic reactions use monomers to build polymers. Polymers are large complex molecules made up of monomers, small molecules. These reactions are endergonic because they use up energy. The bonds being formed are weaker than the bonds being broken.

Ophardt, Collins, "Anabolic Steroids and Muscles,

Most companies use the technique of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. First a standard anabolic steroid is injected into the machine. The machine recognizes it and develops a curve with peaks. The peaks are then depicted on a timed graph. The data is stored in the computer as a reference. Then an unknown drug is injected into the machine. If it is the same drug as the standard, it will appear in the same position at the same time. When it comes to sports, urine samples are randomly collected and injected into the machine and all peaks are analyzed to see if they match any known peaks from reference steroids.

First it is injected into the machine. It goes through the first process: ionization. Here, the machine knocks away one or more electrons resulting in a particle with a net positive charge. They use a technique called electrospray ionization, which forces a sample through a charged needle to strip away electrons. Next, the positive ions must move out of the ionization chamber. The force required to move them comes from an electric field supplied by two metal grids. One grid is positively charged and repels the ions and the other is negatively charged and attracts them. Because the repulsion and attraction act in the same direction, the ions move rapidly towards the negatively charged grid, which has many tiny holes. The ions pass through the holes at different speeds. Lighter ions travel faster than heavier ones. By comparing the peaks on the spectra, which represent ions of various masses, chemists can identify exactly what drugs are present in the urine.

Antranik, Nordqvist, "Metabolism and Energy."

"Anabolic Steroids Detection & Testing on Steroids Rx.com.", Harris

Harris