Rapid and selective detection of nitrite in ham sausage and water samples by a portable gas pressure meter

Abstract

A facile and portable method was established for the detection of nitrite (NO2-) by a portable gas pressure meter. NO2- and sodium cyclamate were reacted specifically under acidic condition, cyclohexene and nitrogen were thus generated, the pressures of reaction bottles were measured by a portable gas pressure meter. The pressures in bottles were increased gradually and proportional to the increase of NO2- concentration, the detection of NO2- was thus achieved. This method ensured good selectivity for the detection of NO2- and avoided interferences from other coexisting ions. In the range of 2–100 mg L−1 (43–2174 μmol L−1), the gas pressure was linearly correlated with the NO2- concentration, and a limit of detection of 0.65 mg L−1 (14 μmol L−1) was obtained. The developed method was further used for NO2- detection in water and ham sausage samples, recoveries of 94–106 % were obtained. It is a potential simple, rapid, portable analytical system/method for on-site detection of NO2-.