Biomass burning has a strong influence on the atmospheric
aerosol composition through particulate organic, inorganic, and
soot emissions. When biomass
burns,
cellulose and hemicelluloses degrade, producing
monosaccharide anhydrides (MAs) such as
levoglucosan,
mannosan, and
galactosan. Therefore, these compounds have been commonly used as tracers for biomass burning. In this study, a fast water-based method was developed for the routine analysis of MAs, based on high-performance
anion-exchange chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry detection. This method combines simple sample preparation, fast separation, and the advantages of the selective detection with MS. Analysis run was optimized to the maximum separation of
levoglucosan,
mannosan, and
galactosan with 15-min analysis. The validation results indicated that the method showed good applicability for determination of MA isomer concentrations in ambient samples. The limit of detection was 100 pg for
levoglucosan and 50 pg for
mannosan and
galactosan. Wide determination ranges enabled the analysis of samples of different concentration levels. The method showed good precision, both for standard solutions (3.9-5.9% RSD) and for fine particle samples (4.3-8.5% RSD). Co-elution of internal standard (carbon-13-labeled levoglucosan) and
sugar alcohols with
levoglucosan decreased the sensitivity of
levoglucosan determination. The method was used to determine the MA concentrations in ambient fine particle samples from urban background (Helsinki) and rural background (Hyytiälä) in Finland. The average
levoglucosan,
mannosan, and
galactosan concentrations were 77, 8.8, and 4.2 ng m(-3) in Helsinki (winter 2008-2009) and 17, 2.3, and 1.4 ng m(-3) in Hyytiälä (spring 2007), respectively. The interrelation of the three MA isomers was fairly constant in the ambient fine particle samples.