A Simple and High Resolution Ion-Pair HPLC Method for Separation and Simultaneous Determination of Nitrate and Thiocyanate in Different Water Samples

An ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method with isocratic elution and ultraviolet detection was developed and validated for the separation and simultaneous determination of nitrate and thiocyanate. The separation was performed on a C18 analytical column with mobile phase containing 0.08 mM hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide as an ion-pair reagent, 40 mM of acetate buffer and 30 methanol at pH 3.2. The detection was monitored at 206 nm. The response was linear from 1 to 10 mM for nitrate, with a detection limit of 0.05 mM, and 1 to 10 mM for thiocyanate, with a detection limit of 0.31 mM. Calibration curves were found to be linear in these concentration ranges with correlation coefficient better than 0.99. © 2012 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.