We have studied the interaction of 3-nitrotyrosine with peroxynitrite using three different methods; chemiluminescence, spectrophotometry and HPLC. Peroxynitrite-induced luminol or lucigenin chemiluminescence were significantly decreased by 3-nitrotyrosine, in concentration-dependent manners. The intensity of the peroxynitrite spectrum was also markedly reduced in the presence of 3-nitrotyrosine in the spectrophometric assay. However, there was no attenuation of the 3-nitrotyrosine signal in the HPLC assay after mixing with peroxynitrite. The interaction of 3-nitrotyrosine and hypochlorous acid (HOCI) was also studiedvia the chemiluminescence assay, where the HOCI-induced responses were markedly inhibited by 3-nitrotyrosine. These results suggest that caution should be taken when studying the levels or interactions of 3-nitrotyrosine.