The objective of this study was to elucidate the origin of the nitric oxide-forming reactions from nitrite in the presence of the iron-N-methyl-D-glucamine dithiocarbamate complex ((MGD) 2 Nitric oxide (NO) 1 has many important physiological roles which include that of a cytotoxic mediator of the immune system, regulation of vasomotor tone in the cardiovascular system, and as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (1, 2). NO is thought to be identical to the endothelium-derived relaxing factor (1), and its insufficiency is believed to contribute to the pathogenesis of vascular disease such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, and myocardial ischemia. As a result, much attention has been focused on the potential therapeutic ability of nitrovasodilators (e.g. nitroglycerin and nitroprusside) (3) and the anti-cancer drug hydroxyurea (4) to release NO.In order to understand the mechanisms by which NO, a diffusable free radical with a short lifetime, mediates various biological processes, accurate methods for its measurement are required. Several methods for the quantitation of NO such as chemiluminescence (1), methemoglobin formation (5), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy of nitrosylmetal complexes (6) have been developed (7). Production of NO can also be indirectly assessed by measuring the nitric oxide oxidation product, nitrite, with the Griess reaction.EPR spectroscopy is the only specific general technique available for the detection and measurement of radical production, but has severe quantum mechanical limitations for diatomic molecules. EPR methods have been developed which stabilize NO as a polyatomic adduct using endogenous and exogenous spin traps (8 -14). Conventional nitrone-and nitroso-based spin traps are not capable of trapping NO as stable radical adducts, and nitromethane is an effective spin trap only at very alkaline pH values (15). The diethyldithiocarbamate (DETC) ferrous complex is a commonly used spin trap for NO (16), and the resultant (DETC) 2 Fe 2ϩ