What is Rasmol?
RasMol is a popular free and open-source molecular visualization software used to visualize and analyze 3D molecular structures such as proteins, DNA, RNA, and small molecules. Originally developed in the early 1990s for computational molecular graphics teaching and research, RasMol has evolved into one of the most widely used tools for generating high-quality 3D images of molecular structures and surfaces.
Some key features and capabilities of RasMol include:
- Supports various molecular data file formats including PDB, Mol2, XYZ, and more
- Offers a user-friendly graphical interface for interactively rotating, scaling, zooming, and translating graphics
- Provides a wide range of coloring methods to visualize properties like atom types, temperature factors, charge, and hydrophobicity
- Measures distances, angles, and torsion angles between atoms
- Generates high resolution bitmaps and publication quality images
- Extensible through scripting to automate tasks and customize functionality
- Available for all major computing platforms like Windows, Linux, and Mac OS
With its ease of use, open availability and wealth of features for detailed molecular modeling, RasMol continues to play an invaluable role in computational chemistry research, molecular modeling, bioinformatics, science education and communication.
PyMOL, Vector NTI, Avogadro, Jmol, CLC Main Workbench, VMD - Visual Molecular Dynamics, UCSF Chimera, RasTop, QuteMol, Calistry.org, Space Ball are some alternatives to Rasmol.