Chime Tutorial Visualization Tools Content

This tutorial provides you with an opportunity to try out some of visualization tools that can be freely obtained. We will first look at a stand-along three-dimensional molecular modeling application called RasMol. We will then see how similar capabilities are available for web browsers using the browser plug-in called Chime. Though RasMol and Chime appear to do the same thing, they complement each other nicely. RasMol is best for interrogating and investigating molecular structures, whereas Chime is better for demonstrating the results of molecular modeling to others using the Web.

Try out RasMol by viewing a model of the artificial sweetener aspartame (Nutrasweet)

For this to work on your browser at home, you must have Rasmol installed on your computer, and you must set up your browswer to launch Rasmol when it encounters the MIME type "chemical/x-ras". This is done in Netscape Navigator by selecting "Edit>Preference...>Navigator>Applications", and set files with MIME type "chemical/x-ras" and the suffix ".ras" to be handled by the application "Rasmol"

Download your own copy of Rasmol

Click your browser's "Back" button to return here after downloading RasMol.

To learn how to use RasMol, read the online RasMol manual.

The manual will open in its own window; it is contained on a single web page so can be easily printed. Return to this window when you wish to continue.

Chime is a web browser-based molecular visualization application that was written by researchers at MDL Information Systems. The images it produces look very similar to those of RasMol, many of the menu-based commands that are available in RasMol are also available in Chime through pop-up menus. What Chime lacks, however, is RasMol's command line, which can be used to type in commands that are not found in the menus. Chime does, however, understand RasMol commands, which can be sent to it by using embedded buttons. This makes Chime a very valuable tool for developing web-based tutorials and figures.

Download your own copy of Chime

The Chime plug-in seems to work best with the Netscape 4.x browsers; It does not work well with the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser. The Chime installation application places the Chime plug-in your browser's "Plug-ins" folder and configures the browser to handle the MIME types and suffix mapping for the various input files that Chime accepts. The important ones for our discussions are the files with the suffix ".pdb" and the MIME type "chemical/x-pdb", and files with the suffix ".spt" and MIME type "application/x-spt". Click your browser's "Back" button to return here after downloading the Chime plug-in.

Try out a Chime based tutorial on oxygen binding the oxygen-binding muscle protein myoglobin.

Click your browser's "Back" button to return here after viewing the tutorial.

Try out a Chime based molecular modeling kit for low molecular weigh biological molecules.

Click your browser's "Back" button to return here after viewing the tutorial.

To learn more about Chime

Visit MDL's Chime support site.

The site will open in its own window so that you can continue using this site and the Chime Support site same time.

Work through the Chime Tutorials and Demonstrations.

The site will open in its own window so that you can continue using this site and the Chime Tutorials and Demonstrations site same time.

[Chemistry Dept.]