Determination of thiocyanate by high performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

High performance liquid chromatographic analysis of thiocyanate (SCN-) was studied using a visible absorption detector to measure iron (III) complex with SCN-. Iron (III) was also effective as the eluting agent, and a simple chromatographic system was developed. The analytical conditions were as follows: column; TSK-Gel LS-222 (6µ, 3mm i.d.×100 mm), eluent; 0.02 M ferric perchlorate in 0.06 N perchloric acid, detector; spectrophotometer connected with 50 µl flow cell (460 nm), flow rate; 0.33 ml/min, column temperature; 40°C. Some anions formed the colored complexes with iron (III), but did not interfere with the measurement of SCN-. The calibration curve was linear within a range of (0.25~10)nmol for SCN-. This method was applied to the determination of SCN- in the normal human urine. The analytical procedure was as follows: Urine was centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 min. Then 100 µl of the supernatant was injected directly on the column. Recoveries of SCN-added to human urine were (98.2~102.3)%. © 1980, The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry. All rights reserved.