Determination of nitrite by direct injection enthalpimetry

Simultaneous determination of nitrate and nitrite in toothpastes by high-performance liquid chromatography

A stability-indicating analytical method is described for the simultaneous determination of nitrate, and if present, its reductive degradation product, nitrite, in toothpastes. Nitrate and nitrite were extracted from the toothpaste using distilled water and separated from other water-soluble excipients by two RP-8 columns (250 mm X 4 mm i.d.) using a mobile phase containing 0.2% (w/v) sodium acetate and 2.5% (v/v) glacial acetic acid in distilled water. A UV detector set at 313 nm was used for quantitation. The method was applied to commercial toothpastes containing 5% potassium nitrate and yielded an average recovery of 100.1% with a relative standard deviation of 1.43%. Average recovery of nitrate and nitrite from spiked samples were 100.6% and 96.4%, respectively. The minimum detectable concentration for nitrite was 50 micrograms/g of toothpaste.

Determination of nitrite at low level without prior extraction

A method has been devised for the determination of nitrite at low level that is directly applicable to food or other dried matrices without prior extraction. Nitric oxide released from nitrite through the action of acetic acid is determined using a chemiluminescence analyser. The limit of detection is approximately 0.02 microgram, the coefficients of variation being 5.7 and 8.2% using 0.1 and 0.05 microgram of sodium nitrite, respectively. The chemiluminescence analyser response is diminished when water in excess of 0.5 ml is present in the assay system unless hydrogen bromide in acetic acid is used instead of acetic acid alone. The application of the method to the direct determination of nitrite in freeze-dried cod fish has indicated a content of 0.25 mg NaNO2 per kg, equivalent to 0.050 mg per kg of the original undried material.