Several porphyrin and salophen complexes with Rh(III) are examined as ionophores to prepare nitrite selective polymeric membrane electrodes. All ionophores tested exhibit preferred selectivity towards nitrite anion. Enhanced potentiometric nitrite selectivity is observed in the presence of either lipophilic anionic as well as cationic sites within the membranes, suggesting that the ionophores can function via either a charged or neutral carrier response mechanism. Among a range of complexes and membrane formulations examined, optimal nitrite selectivity and reversible response down to 5 × 10 −6 M is achieved using Rh(III)-tetra(t-butyl-phenylporphyrin) as the ionophore in the presence of lipophilic cationic sites in plasticized PVC membrane. Response times are substantially longer than typical membrane electrodes apparently due to slow nitrite ligation reaction however, a significant improvement in dynamic EMF response can be realized by optimizing the membrane formulation and increasing temperature. The selecitivity observed with these membranes is greater than the best nitrite selective electrodes reported to the date in the literature based on lipophilic Co (III)-corrin complexes, allowing the new nitrite electrodes to be utilized to determine the level of nitrite in meats with good correlation to the colorimetric Griess assay method.Ion-selective polymeric membrane electrodes (ISEs) for cations and anions have become widespread analytical tools over the past three decades. 1,2 They are based on a generic sensing principle in which different lipophilic ionophores can be employed within the polymer membranes to yield devices with high selectivity for a wide range of ions. Generally, it has been found that the development of ionophores capable of selective interaction with specific anions is far more challenging than for cations, owing to the highly varied sizes and shapes of anionic species. 1 Among the anion-selective carriers examined to date, lipophilic metal cationligand complexes, such as metalloporphyrins, metallophthalocyanines, and metallosalophens have received considerable attention due to their good chemical and thermal resistance. 3 Moreover, it has been demonstrated repeatedly that the anion selectivity of these complexes depends mainly on the specific nature of the central metal cation and hence fundamental knowledge about the chemical ligation properties of metal ion centers of these complexes (i.e., relative affinity towards different anions) can help predict the anion-selectivity of membranes formulated with such species.There is a growing interest in devising simple sensors to detect nitrite due to the important role of this anion in many fields. 4 Nitrite ion is commonly used as an additive in some foods and as a corrosion inhibitor. 5,6,7 Moreover, it can be formed as a result of the degradation of fertilizers. 8,9,10 Its determination is important for environmental reasons as well as for public health, since highly carcinogenic N-nitrosoamines can be formed by the reaction of nitri...