Simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate in dew, rain, snow and lake water samples by high speed ion-pair high performance liquid chromatography

GEOC 34

Yuegang Zuo, yzuo@umassd.edu1, Chengjun Wang1, Jeremy Drolet2, and Thuan Van1. (1) Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Rd, North Dartmouth, MA 02747, (2) Univ. of Massachusetts Dartmouth
A simple, fast, sensitive and accurate reversed-phase ion-pair HPLC method for simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate in atmospheric liquids and lake waters has been developed. Separations were accomplished in less than 10 min using a reversed-phase C18 column (150 x 2.00 mm i.d., 5 µm particle size) or 5 min utilizing 5.0 x 4.6 mm, 3 µm C18 column with a mobile phase containing 83% 3.0 mM ion-interaction reagent tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBA-OH) and 2.0 mM sodium phosphate buffer at pH 3.9 and 17% acetonitrile (flow rate, 0.4 ml/min). UV light absorption responses at 205 nm were linear over a wide concentration range from one hundred µg/mL to the detection limits of nitrite and nitrate. Quantitation was carried out by the peak area method. The relative standard deviation for the analysis of nitrite and nitrate was less than 3.0%. This method was applied for the simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate in dew, rain, snow and lake water samples collected in southeast Massachusetts. High levels of nitrite ( > 0.6 µg/mL) and nitrate ( > 4.7 µg/mL) were observed in dew water droplets.
 

The Biogeochemical Cycling of Nitrogen at Various Spatial and Temporal Scales
1:30 PM-4:40 PM, Monday, August 20, 2007 Boston Park Plaza -- St. James Rm, Oral

Sci-Mix
8:00 PM-10:00 PM, Monday, August 20, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Sci-Mix

Division of Geochemistry

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007