Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 15, 2026

Modeling an Enzyme Active Site using Molecular Visualization Freeware
Published on: December 25, 2021
Molmil: a molecular viewer for the PDB and beyond.
Gert-Jan Bekker1, Haruki Nakamura2, Akira R Kinjo2
1Laboratory of Protein Informatics, Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, 3-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan ; Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan.
A new JavaScript and WebGL molecular viewer, Molmil, offers platform independence and local file loading. This web-based tool enhances data accessibility for molecular visualization across various devices.
Area of Science:
- Computational biology
- Structural biology
- Web development
Background:
- Existing molecular viewers often lack platform independence or require data uploads.
- There is a need for accessible, versatile tools for visualizing molecular structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel, platform-independent, web-based molecular viewer.
- To enhance data accessibility and visualization capabilities for molecular structures.
Main Methods:
- Developed Molmil using JavaScript and WebGL for broad compatibility.
- Integrated Molmil into Protein Data Bank Japan services.
- Enabled local file loading without server uploads.
Main Results:
- Molmil provides platform-independent molecular visualization.
- The viewer supports various file formats and local data loading.
- It is easily extensible by third-party developers.
Conclusions:
- Molmil offers a flexible and accessible solution for molecular visualization.
- The web-based viewer improves data handling and accessibility for researchers.
- Its open-source nature and extensibility foster wider adoption and development.
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