title: Voltammetric determination of cyanide and thiocyanate in small biological samples.
abstract: Practical methods for the quantitative measurement of cyanide and thiocyanate content in small biological samples are presented. The basis of the procedures is electrochemical determination of CN- with a silver rotating disk electrode at 90 mV, relative to the Ag/AgCl reference electrode, or with a dropping mercury electrode in differential pulse mode at -240 mV. Thiocyanate is oxidized to CN- with permanganate under controlled conditions prior to its analysis. Endogenous cyanide and cyanide from SCN- oxidation are recovered, separately, by volatilization and trapping. Emphasis is placed on careful handling of specimens prior to analysis. Precautions include a provision for sequestering cyanide in storage, the use of an antioxidant, and an avoidance of the spontaneous sulfide formation from proteins that occurs in even mildly alkaline solutions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Chicago, Illinois 60637.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Westley
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Westley
mesh_terms: D003486:Cyanides / Q000097:blood*; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008832:Microchemistry / Q000379:methods; D013861:Thiocyanates / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D003486:Cyanides; D013861:Thiocyanates; C031760:thiocyanate