A new method for sustained generation of ultra-pure nitric oxide-containing gas mixtures via controlled UVA-photolysis of nitrite solutions

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• 作者：Christian Oplä ; nder ; Marcel Baschin ; Ernst E. van Faassen ; Matthias Born ; Manfred Mö ; ller ; Norbert Pallua ; Christoph V. Suschek
• 关键词：Nitrite ; UVA ; Photodecomposition ; Nitric oxide
• 刊名：Nitric Oxide
• 出版年：2010
• 出版时间：15 December 2010
• 年：2010
• 卷：23
• 期：4
• 页码：275-283
• 全文大小：1753 K

文摘

Exogenous gaseous nitric oxide (gNO) is an FDA approved drug for treatment of a variety of human pathologies like Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension in neonates and premature babies, skin lesions and fungal dermatophyte infections. Substantial disadvantages of current gNO-based therapies are the high therapy costs, high storage costs of the gas cylinders, and the rapid contamination of compressed NO gases with various decomposition products. Here we describe a new, very simple, and inexpensive photolytic generator of uncontaminated NO-containing gas mixtures at therapeutic concentrations. The new method bases on UVA-induced and redox-assisted decomposition of nitrite ions in aqueous solutions. NO formation via UVA-induced photolysis of nitrite is accompanied by an OH radical-dependent production of NO₂ that beside its toxic character additionally strongly reduces the NO yield by consuming NO in its reaction to N₂O₃. During the UVA-induced photodecomposition process both, inhibition of NO₂ formation or NO₂ depletion by antioxidants hinders the NO-consuming reaction with NO₂ and ensured a maximal purity and maximal yield of NO-containing gas mixtures. Therefore, NO-containing gas mixtures generated by the described method are suitable for medical applications like inhalation or gassing of chronic non-healing wounds. Control of temperature, UVA intensity and composition of the reaction mixture allows facile control over the final NO level in the carrier gas over a wide concentration range. We demonstrate the sustained and stable release of NO over a wide dynamic range (10–5000 ppm NO) for many hours. The method avoids contamination-prone long time storage of NO gas. As such, it appears particularly relevant for applications involving the additional presence of oxygen (e.g. inhalation).