WebGL demo – GLmol Molecular Viewer

GLmol Molecular Viewer is an application created by “biochem_fan” for viewing 3D molecular models using WebGL, JavaScript, and GLmol open-source software. Specifically, this demo depicts a “structure of Porin refined at 1.8 angstroms resolution”, but if you download molecular structures from sites such as RCSB PDB or NCBI Pubchem, the application provides the option to upload model files for viewing.

Additional options provided for viewing 3D molecular structures include variation in representations of:

- main chain (ribbon, strand, ribbon with cylinder, C alpha trace, or B factor tube)
- nucleic acid bases (lines, sticks, or polygons)
- non bonded atoms (solvent/ions) (stars or spheres)
- ligands (HETATMs) (spheres, sticks, lines, or icosahedrons)
- coloring (by spectrum, chain, secondary structure, B factor, or polar/nonpolar)
- toggling on/off (side chains as lines, unit cell, biological assembly (mainchain only), and crystal packing (mainchain only)

Suffice to say, this is a great use of WebGL by the scientific sphere and an all around impressive application.

See GLmol Molecular Viewer HERE.