Development of an in situ derivatization technique for rapid analysis of levoglucosan and polar compounds in atmospheric organic aerosol

A novel thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GCMS) technique was developed for the analysis of levoglucosan and other polar compounds in atmospheric organic aerosol. The method employs an in situ derivatization to add tri-methylsilyl groups to alcohol functional groups on simple carbohydrates, like levoglucosan and sterols. The new method was then demonstrated on a set of 40 filter samples collected in Fresno, CA. The results from the in situ silylation TD-GCMS method were compared, using levoglucosan, with a solvent extraction, high-volume injection GCMS method resulting in an r2 = 0.91.