Current Microbiology

, Volume 12, Issue 6, pp 341–345 | Cite as

Amperometric method for determining nitrous oxide in denitrification and in nitrogenase-catalyzed nitrous oxide reduction

  • Wolfgang Zimmer
  • Gerhard Danneberg
  • Hermann Bothe
Article

Abstract

A conventional Clark-type O2 probe was used to determine N2O concentrations in suspensions. At a polarizing voltage of−0.95 V versus the reference Ag/AgCl electrode, the probe is almost half as sensitive for N2O as for O2, and the detection limit is less than 1 μM N2O. The probe can also be used to determine NO for which the suitable polarizing voltage is−0.7 V. The method was successfully applied for continuously recording dissimilatory formation or utilization of N2O by intactAzospirillum brasilense Sp 7, NO production by extracts from this bacterium, and N2O reduction catalyzed by nitrogenase in intactKlebsiella pneumoniae. It is concluded that the probe is useful for measuring N2O or NO contents in bacterial suspensions when the O2 level is zero or kept constant during the assays.

Keywords

Oxide Detection Limit Denitrification Nitrous Oxide Bacterial Suspension 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 1985

Authors and Affiliations

  • Wolfgang Zimmer
    • 1
  • Gerhard Danneberg
    • 1
  • Hermann Bothe
    • 1
  1. 1.Botanical InstituteUniversity of KölnKölnGermany

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