Urinary thiosulfate determined by suppressed ion chromatography with conductimetric detection

Thiosulfate is a naturally occurring product of sulfur metabolism. Assays of urinary thiosulfate have been based on the reaction with cyanide to form thiocyanate. However, matrix interferences and background variation in endogenous thiocyanate excretion place serious constraints on this method for determination of physiological amounts of thiosulfate in urine. We describe a column-switching ion chromatographic separation for urinary thiosulfate that allows for sensitive and accurate detection by ion conductimetry. In 20 adult volunteers, we found a lower urinary thiosulfate (8.50 +/- 7.39 mumol/24 h, mean +/- S.D.) than others have described, although the upward skew of the results (median, 6.90; range, 0.84-32 mumol/24 h) was similar. However, we have not observed any of the interferences and the sensitivity of our technique (< 0.2 mumol/24 h) allows for detection of thiosulfate in all control samples. This sort of methodological improvement will be essential for any study of physiological thiosulfate metabolism.