diff --git a/tex/thesis.tex b/tex/thesis.tex
index 37e3204..5acdb9e 100644
--- a/tex/thesis.tex
+++ b/tex/thesis.tex
@@ -957,8 +957,23 @@ plates and incubated for another \SI{24}{\hour}. Cells and beads/\glspl{dms}
 were removed from the retronectin plates using vigorous pipetting and
 transferred to another 96 well plate wherein expansion continued.
 
-% METHOD snb decay curve generation and analysis (including the equation used to
-% fit the data)
+\subsection{sulfo-NHS-biotin hydrolysis quantification}
+
+The equation for hydrolysis of \gls{snb} was assumed to follow
+\cref{chem:snb_hydrolysis}. 
+
+% TODO make this look prettier
+\begin{equation}
+  \label{chem:snb_hydrolysis}
+  \ce{NHS-CO-Biotin + OH- -> NHS- + Biotin-COOH}
+\end{equation}
+
+The hydrolysis of \gls{snb} was performed spectroscopically. \gls{snb} was added
+to either \gls{di} water or \gls{pbs} in a UV-transparent 96 well plate. Kinetic
+analysis using a Biotech Plate Reader began immediately after prep, and readings
+at \SI{260}{\nm} were taken every minute for \SI{2}{\hour}.
+
+\subsection{reaction kinetics quantification}
 
 % METHOD add reaction kinetics diffusion mathy stuff
 
@@ -1103,8 +1118,8 @@ other variables, which is not surprisingly given the behavior observed in
 We also observed that the reaction pH does not influence the amount of biotin
 attached (\cref{fig:dms_qc_ph}), which indicates that while higher pH might
 increase the number of deprotonated amines on the surface of the microcarrier,
-it also increases the number of OH\textsuperscript{-} groups which can
-spontaneously hydrolyze the \gls{snb} in solution.
+it also increases the number of \ce{OH-} groups which can spontaneously
+hydrolyze the \gls{snb} in solution.
 
 Furthermore, we observed that washing the microcarriers after autoclaving
 increases the biotin binding rate (\cref{fig:dms_qc_washes}). While we did not
@@ -1115,24 +1130,23 @@ and when measuring the supernatent using the \gls{haba} assay, these soluble or
 lightly-suspended peptides/protein fragments are also measured and therefore
 inflate the readout.
 
-% TABLE decay curve half lives
-
 Lastly, we asked what the effect on reaction pH had on spontaneous degradation
 of \gls{snb} while in solution. If the \gls{snb} significantly degrades within
 minutes of preparation, then it is important to carefully control the timing
-between \gls{snb} solution preparation and addition to the microcarriers. When
-buffering \gls{pbs} to different pH's, analyzing the decay curves using UV plate
-reader, and fitting an exponential decay equation to the data, we observed that
-the half-life of \gls{snb} in solution decreases
-(\cref{fig:dms_snb_decay_curves}). However, these half-lives are large enough
-(on the order of several hours) not to be of concern assuming that the \gls{snb}
-solution is added within a few minutes of preparation (which it was in all our
-cases). Furthermore, we dissolved our \gls{snb} in \gls{di} water and not
-\gls{pbs} which means the pH is even lower and thus the half life is even
-higher, further showing that the decay of \gls{snb} is not a concern.
+between \gls{snb} solution preparation and addition to the microcarriers. We
+found that in the presence of \gls{di} water, \gls{snb} is extremely stable
+(\cref{fig:dms_snb_decay_curves}) where it decays rapidly in the presence of
+\gls{pbs} buffered to pH of 7.1. In fact, the \gls{di} water curve actually
+decreases slightly, possibly due to \gls{snb} absorbing to the plate surface.
+\gls{snb} is known to hydrolyze in the presence of \ce{OH-}, but the lack of
+hydrolysis in \gls{di} water can be explained by the fact that biotin itself is
+acidic, and thus the reaction is self-inhibitory in an unbuffered and neutral pH
+system. Because we dissolve our \gls{snb} in \gls{di} water prior to adding it
+to the microcarrier suspension (which itself is in \gls{pbs}) this result
+indicated that hydrolysis is not of concern when adding \gls{snb} within
+minutes.
 
-% TODO add the water curve to the figure just to make it clear this is not a
-% concern
+% TODO use the water vs pbs curve here
 \begin{figure*}[ht!]
   \begingroup