Detailed Product Description:

 

A colorless, odorless, crystalline powder.  Saline, slightly

 

bitter taste.  Soluble in water and glycerol.  Slightly soluble

 

in alcohol.

 

 

Sodium nitrite is used as a color fixative and preservative in

 

meats and fish.  When pure, it is a white to slight yellowish

 

crystalline powder.  It is very soluble in water and is hygroscopic.

 

 

It is slowly oxidized with exposure to air to sodium nitrate,

 

NaNO2.  It is a strong reducing agent.

 

 

Grade/Purity:

 

This is Reagent-Grade material with a minimum purity of 99.0%

 

 

Applications:

Sodium Nitrite is used in manufacturing diazo dyes, nitroso compounds,

 

and other organic compounds; in dyeing and printing textile fabrics

 

and bleaching fibers; in photography; as a laboratory reagent and a

 

corrosion inhibitor; in metal coatings for phosphatizing and de-tinning;

 

and in the manufacture of rubber chemicals.  Sodium nitrite also has

 

been used in human and veterinary medicine as a vasodilator, a

 

bronchodilator, an intestinal relaxant or a laxative, and an antidote

 

for cyanide poisoning.

 

 

As a food additive, Sodium Nitrite serves a dual purpose in the food

 

industry, altering the color of preserved fish and meats and preventing

 

growth of Clostridium botulinum, the bacteria which causes botulism.

 

 

While this chemical will prevent the growth of bacteria, it can be toxic

 

for mammals (LD50 in rats is 180 mg/kg).  For this reason, sodium

 

nitrite sold as a food additive is dyed bright pink to avoid mistaking

 

it for something else.  Cooks and makers of charcuterie often simply

 

refer to sodium nitrite as "pink salt".

 

 

Various dangers of using this as a food additive have been suggested

 

and researched by scientists.  A principal concern is the formation of

 

carcinogenic N-nitrosamines by the reaction of sodium nitrite with

 

amino acids in the presence of heat in an acidic environment.  

 

Sodium nitrite is also used to convert amines into diazo compounds.  The

 

synthetic utility of such a reaction is to render the amino group labile for

 

nucleophilic substitution, as the N2 group is a better leaving group.  In

 

the laboratory, sodium nitrite is also used to destroy excess sodium azide.

 

 

Precautions:

 

Strong oxidizer.  Can cause fire in contact with organic materials.

 

Download, read and understand the MSDS and the hazards and precautions

 

involved with handling this substance.

 

 

Click here to download MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)

 

 

Packaging:

 

Contents of 200 grams comes packed in a Nalgene HDPE jar.