  Direct reaction techniques are powerful tools to study the single-particle
nature of nuclei. Performing direct reactions on short-lived nuclei requires
radioactive ion beams produced either via fragmentation or the Isotope
Separation OnLine (ISOL) method. Some of the most interesting regions to study
with direct reactions are close to the magic numbers where changes in shell
structure can be tracked. These changes can impact the final abundances of
explosive nucleosynthesis. The structure of the chain of tin isotopes is
strongly influenced by the Z=50 proton shell closure, as well as the neutron
shell closures lying in the neutron-rich, N=82, and neutron-deficient, N=50,
regions. Here we present two examples of direct reactions on exotic tin
isotopes. The first uses a one-neutron transfer reaction and a low-energy
reaccelerated ISOL beam to study states in 131Sn from across the N=82 shell
closure. The second example utilizes a one-neutron knockout reaction on
fragmentation beams of neutron-deficient 106,108Sn. In both cases, measurements
of gamma rays in coincidence with charged particles proved to be invaluable.
