Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p> The reduction of the nitrite anion (NO <jats:sub>2</jats:sub> <jats:sup>−</jats:sup> ) plays a critical role across mammalian physiology, biogeochemical cycles, and environmental processes. Insights into the underlying mechanisms during the reductive transformation of nitrite to distinct products such as nitric oxide (NO), nitroxyl (HNO), and ammonia (NH <jats:sub>3</jats:sub> ) are essential for advancing nitrite‐based therapeutic strategies, developing technologies for the removal of nitrogen oxyanion contaminants from drinking water, and enabling the conversion of nitrite into value‐added chemicals. Although this article does not aim to be a comprehensive review, it highlights recent advances in biomimetic studies of nitrite reduction using Fe‐, Cu‐, and Zn‐based molecular complexes and discusses the underlying reaction mechanisms in the context of the fundamental chemistry of nitrite anion and the key transformations mediated by metalloenzymes. </jats:p>