Biological sulfane sulfur

A voltammetric method for determining cyanide-reactive sulfane sulfur in biological materials is described. Samples are incubated with a sulfurtransferase, a thiolic cofactor, and cyanide. Thiocyanate formed and/or residual cyanide may then be determined electrochemically with either a silver rotating disk electrode or a dropping mercury electrode in differential pulse mode to provide estimates of sulfane sulfur content. The thiocyanate-based procedure is preferable, particularly when samples contain either serum albumin or inorganic sulfide.