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Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Measuring Nitrite and Nitrate, Metabolites in the Nitric Oxide Pathway, in Biological Materials using the Chemiluminescence Method
Published on: December 25, 2016
Spectrophotometric determination of serum nitrite and nitrate by copper-cadmium alloy
K V H Sastry1, R P Moudgal, J Mohan
1Division of Physiology and Reproduction, Central Avian Research Institute, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Abstract:
A macro and micro assay for the spectrophotometric determination of serum nitrite and nitrate was developed. Nitrite/nitrate in biological samples can be estimated in a single step by this method. The principle of the assay is the reduction of nitrate by copper-cadmium alloy, followed by color development with Griess reagent (sulfanilamide and N-naphthylethylenediamine) in acidic medium. This assay is sensitive to 1 microM nitrate and is suitable for different biological fluids, including sera with a high lipid concentration. The copper-cadmium alloy used in the present method is easy to prepare and can completely reduce nitrate to nitrite in an hour. The present method provides a simple, cost-effective assay for the estimation of stable oxidation products of nitric oxide in biological samples.
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