Ion Chromatography Determination of Levoglucosan, Mannosan and Galactosan in Ambient Air Particulate Matter
2026-11-10
Background
China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment has released four national ecological and environmental standards. Among them, Ambient Air — Source Apportionment of Particulate Matter — Determination of Levoglucosan, Mannosan and Galactosan in Particulate Matter by Ion Chromatography (HJ 1413-2025) came into force on 1 August 2025. Wayeal ion chromatographs were among the main verification instruments for this standard, and completed the verification work with high quality and high precision.
Atmospheric particulate matter — particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 µm or less — has a significant impact on human health and the environment. Levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan are important components of ambient particulate matter and are widely used as molecular tracers of biomass burning. Monitoring these sugars in PM2.5 helps identify the formation and sources of particulate pollution, which is essential for air pollution control, ecological protection and public health.
Method Overview
This application note establishes an ion chromatography method for the determination of levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan using a Wayeal IC system (IC6300 / IC6600 series) equipped with an amperometric detector (Au working electrode) and AS3100 autosampler. Sodium hydroxide and sodium acetate are used as eluents. The method features simple sample preparation, good recovery and high sensitivity, and is well suited to routine sugar tracer analysis in particulate matter.
Chromatographic Conditions
| Parameter | Setting |
|---|---|
| Column | Sugar analysis column, 250 mm × 4.0 mm |
| Eluent | Binary gradient (1000 mM NaOH / water) |
| Flow rate | 0.4 mL/min |
| Run time | 55 min |
| Injection | Full-loop injection, 200 µL |
| Column temperature | 30 °C |
| Cell temperature | 35 °C |
| Detection | Amperometric, pulsed integration, gold electrode, four-potential sugar waveform |
Sample Preparation
- Blank filter: cut a 3 cm × 2.5 cm filter, place it in a 15 mL plastic tube, add 10 mL water, and ultrasonically extract for 30 min at more than 400 W. Filter the extract through a 0.22 µm syringe filter before analysis.
- Total suspended particulate sample: extract as above, then purify the filtrate through a C18 organic clean-up cartridge and a Na cartridge, discarding the first 3 mL before injection.
- Biomass burning source sample: weigh 0.2 g of particulate powder into a 15 mL tube, add 10 mL water, ultrasonically extract for 30 min at more than 400 W, filter through 0.22 µm, purify with C18 and Na cartridges, and discard the first 3 mL.
Results
Calibration standards at 0.02, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/L were injected under the conditions above. All three sugars showed excellent linearity, with correlation coefficients R > 0.999. At a 0.02 mg/L level, the theoretical detection limits calculated from three times the signal-to-noise ratio were 1.40 ppb for levoglucosan (retention time 13.208 min), 1.19 ppb for mannosan (15.508 min) and 2.24 ppb for galactosan (23.167 min), confirming ppb-level sensitivity for ambient PM samples.
Blank spike tests at 0.2 mg/L and matrix spike tests on real biomass burning source samples were also performed. Peaks were well separated and recoveries met the acceptance criteria, showing that the method is robust in complex particulate matrices.
Conclusion
A Wayeal ion chromatography system with amperometric detection, combined with simple ultrasonic extraction and cartridge clean-up, allows qualitative and quantitative determination of levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan in ambient air particulate matter using external standard calibration. The method is simple, reproducible and sensitive, and its accuracy meets the requirements of HJ 1413-2025 — making it a practical solution for source apportionment studies, biomass burning monitoring and routine air quality laboratories.
