‘In situ’ preparation of nitrous acid solutions by photoreduction in a flow assembly for analysis of pharmaceuticals

The solutions of nitrite ion, or nitrous acid, are frequently used as reagent in different analytical procedures and in pharmaceutical analysis. The low stability of the aqueous solutions of this reagent implies the tedious work of freshly prepared solutions every day and being kept in the refrigerator. In this paper, a photoreactor formed by a low pressure mercury lamp and nesting in a continuous-flow manifold is studied, tested, and proposed for the in situ reduction of nitrate solution into nitrite. The conversion into nitrite is reproducible and it has been successfully applied to determination of different drugs, mostly from the sulphonamide family, in an FIA assembly.