Nitric oxide delivery devices

A method for generating nitric oxide, comprising:

• applying a cathodic voltage to a working electrode inside of a polymeric housing through a conductive lead that extends outside of the polymeric housing, the polymeric housing containing a source of nitrite ions that is in contact with the working electrode, and the working electrode being a copper-containing conductive material or a base material coated with a copper-containing conductive material;
• and
• applying an anodic voltage to the working electrode, thereby locally producing Cu(I) ions at a surface of the working electrode that react with nitrite from the source of nitrite ions to form nitric oxide gas;
• wherein the applying of the cathodic voltage to the working electrode is accomplished for a predetermined time ranging from about 1 second to about 10 minutes.

A method for generating nitric oxide, comprising:

• applying a cathodic voltage to a working electrode inside of a polymeric housing through a conductive lead that extends outside of the polymeric housing, the polymeric housing containing a source of nitrite ions that is in contact with the working electrode, and the working electrode being a copper-containing conductive material or a base material coated with a copper-containing conductive material;
• and
• applying an anodic voltage to the working electrode, thereby locally producing Cu(I) ions at a surface of the working electrode that react with nitrite from the source of nitrite ions to form nitric oxide gas;
• wherein the applying of the anodic voltage to the working electrode for a predetermined time results in the working electrode becoming passivated, and wherein the method further comprises applying another cathodic voltage to the working electrode to clean the working electrode.