Ion chromatographic method for simultaneous determination of nitrate and nitrite in human saliva

A simple, rapid, accurate and sensitive method is proposed for the simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate in human saliva. Nitrite and nitrate present in the human saliva were determined after 10- to 100-fold dilution with ion chromatography (IC) using suppressed conductivity detection. Recoveries of nitrite and nitrate were found to be ranged between 95% and 101%. The method was linear (r2=0.9991) over the concentration working range. The detection limits were found to be 15.0 microg/l and 33.5 microg/l, for nitrite and nitrate, respectively. Ions that are present in human saliva and several other ions that are suspected to affect nitrite and nitrate determination were checked. It was found that most of the ions did not cause any interference in the determination. The method allows simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate in human saliva.