Reductive decomposition of a diazonium intermediate by dithiothreitol affects the determination of NOS turnover rates.

Accurate determination of nitrite either as such or as the breakdown product of nitric oxide (NO) is critical in a host of enzymatic reactions in various settings addressing structure-function relationships, as well as mechanisms and kinetics of molecular operation of enzymes. The most common way to quantify nitrite, for instance in nitric oxide synthase (NOS) mechanistic investigations, is the spectrophotometric assay based on the Griess reaction through external standard calibration. This assay is based on a two-step diazotization reaction, in which a cationic diazonium derivative of sulfanilamide is formed as intermediate before the final absorbing azo-product.