Current strategies in nitrite detection and their application to field analysisThe opinions expressed in the following article are entirely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of The Royal Society of Chemistry, the Editor or the Editorial Board of JEM.

Abstract

The various analytical protocols that have been developed to aid the measurement of nitrite within environmental samples have been critically appraised and their applicability to field measurement assessed. The present communication presents a perspective on current techniques and technologies encompassing spectroscopic, electrochemical and chromatographic methodologies and highlights those that are liable to emerge in the near future. Commercial devices have been included and where appropriate the advantages and limitations posed by their operation within field contexts have been described.

Construction of effective disposable biosensors for point of care testing of nitrite

“…Better analytical tools are required in clinical diagnosis, monitoring of food quality and pollution control because none of the established protocols meet all requisites we demand of an analytical assay: simplicity, sensitivity, selectivity, low detection limit, reproducibility and fast response time [1][2][3][4].…”

“…Unfortunately, the actual circulating levels of nitrite in humans have been difficult to measure due to sampling problems and the poor performance of analytical assays. Despite highly sensitive methods have already been proposed, these are fairly cumbersome and not practicable for non-laboratory settings [4,[12][13][14].…”

Nitrite Biosensing via Selective Enzymes—A Long but Promising Route

“…If in excessive levels, these ions can have an adverse impact on public health and ecological systems. Nitrite is the foremost toxic agent, but the fairly inert nitrate is easily reduced to nitrite by bacterial action in the soil or within the digestive system [1,2]. In recent years, in order to manage environmental and health risks caused by nitrates/nitrites exposure, the most important governmental agencies have promulgated rules and directives to restrict the level of these ions in drinking waters and food products.…”

CMAS: fully integrated portable centrifugal microfluidic analysis system for on-site colorimetric analysis

“…22 Excessive levels can lead to detrimental human health effects and marine life degradation. 23,24 Current techniques for the detection of nitrite are electrochemical, capillary/column, biosensing, however spectrophotometric methods are the most popular by far, 22 due to the excellent limits of detection (as low as subnanomolar), dynamic range and cost efficiency. In particular, the spectrophotometric assay based on the Griess reagent has been very popular for over a century.…”

“…In particular, the spectrophotometric assay based on the Griess reagent has been very popular for over a century. 23 This assay is well-known for its sensitivity, stability and robustness, but existing flow injection analysis systems tend to consume large volumes of reagent (mL per sample) 25 , and are thus unsuitable for in-situ and remote deployment. Recently Xi et al 26 determined nitrite/nitrate concentrations in water samples using the Griess reagent method on a centrifugal microfluidic disc.…”