Post Translational Modifications (PTM) are modifications which take place following protein biosynthesis. There are hundreds of PTMs which have been discovered and possibly many more which have yet to be discovered. The analysis of the 20 amino acids to study has exponentially increased to seemingly limitless combinations of proteins and PTMs, and this number of possible PTM combinations add daunting challenges for proteomic analysis.

Scanning probe microscopy methodologies have advanced to the point that in situ measurements of complex biological systems can be routinely measured at the single-molecule level¹, providing information on rare states that can be lost in standard ensemble measurements²and allowing highly specific detection of various proteins and polysaccharides^3,4.

The Environmental Protective Agency (EPA) monitors and regulates harmful chemical contaminants in the environment in order to reduce the detrimental effects they have on people and the environment. In order to monitor these contaminants, specifically in water and/or soil, people are required to go to the location of interest and collect samples to bring back to a laboratory to be analyzed. This process requires samples to be stored and preserved prior to analysis.

When the steepest descent pathway following a transition state structure for a given reaction splits in two, the reaction is said to involve a post-transition state bifurcation (PTSB). The presence of a PTSB presents complications for predicting product selectivity, in that a single transition state structure allows direct access to two products without any intervening minima (intermediates).