Molecular structural elucidation can be accomplished by different techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance or X-ray diffraction. However, the former does not give information about the three-dimensional atomic arrangement, and the latter needs crystallizable solid samples. An alternative is direct, real-space visualization of the molecules by cryogenic scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). This technique is usually limited to thermally robust molecules because an annealing step is required for sample deposition. A landmark development has been the coupling of STM with electrospray deposition (ESD), which smooths the process and widens the scope of the visualization technique. In this work, we present the on-surface characterization of air-, light-, and temperature-sensitive rhamnopolyene with relevance in molecular biology. Supported by theoretical calculations, we characterize two isomers of this flexible molecule, confirming the potential of the technique to inspect labile, non-crystallizable compounds.

Center for Global Infectious Disease Research Seattle Children's Research Institute Seattle Washington 98109 United States

Departamento de Química Orgánica Unidad de Excelencia de Química Aplicada a la Biomedicina y Medioambiente C U Fuentenueva Universidad de Granada 18071 Granada Spain

Department of Global Health University of Washington Seattle Washington 98105 United States

Department of Pediatrics University of Washington Seattle Washington 98105 United States

Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Traslazionale Universitá di Brescia Viale Europa 11 25121 Brescia Italy

Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering Czech Technical University 11519 Prague Czech Republic

Institute of Physics Czech Academy of Sciences 16200 Prague Czech Republic

Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid 28049 Madrid Spain

Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute Palacký University Olomouc 78371 Olomouc Czech Republic

Unidad de Resonancia Magnética Nuclear Centro de Instrumentación Científica Universidad de Granada Paseo Juan Osorio s n 18071 Granada Spain

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