Determination of nitrite as pentafluorobenzyl derivative by RP-HPLC and UV detection with and without ion-pair extraction

Summary A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method with UV detection (270 nm) for the determination of nitrite as its pentafluorobenzyl derivative with and without ion-pair extraction is described. Ion-pair extraction of nitrite from aqueous solutions was performed by using a 1 mol/l solution of the liquid ion exchanger methyltrioctylammonium chloride in toluene. The residue of the ion-pair extraction or an aliquot of an aqueous nitrite solution or of a biological fluid (100 l) were treated with 400 l of acetone and 10 l of pentafluorobenzyl bromide. Nitrite was converted into its pentafluorobenzyl derivative by heating at 50°C for 90 min. After evaporation of acetone the aqueous phases were diluted with 100 to 400 l of methanol, and up to 100 l were injected into the RP-HPLC system. The method allows accurate analysis of nitrite in the presence of nitrate directly in aqueous solutions and biological fluids in concentrations down to 2.0 mg/l. The method is also applicable to the determination of nitrate following its reduction to nitrite by cadmium.