SAN DIEGO, Calif.--Molecular modeling and simulation software company Molecular Simulations here has announced the first commercial release of WebLab ViewerPro, which offers high-quality molecular visualization and analysis on Windows, Power Macintosh, and Silicon Graphics platforms.
According to the company, WebLab ViewerPro is used to build and view molecules, proteins, and crystalline materials. Users can draw molecular structures, automatically convert molecules built in two-dimensional sketching packages to three dimensions, and optimize geometry using energy minimization. In addition, key structural features can be displayed and analyzed. The software allows scientists to communicate the results of experiments using Web browsers and e-mail, and offers seamless integration with such desktop packages as Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and Excel using OLE technology, facilitating such tasks as embedding and manipulating high-quality images within reports or presentations.
"What used to be available to only expert modelers for thousands of dollars is now available to all research scientists for under $500," claimed Mick Savage, the company's president and CEO. "Computational chemists will find it particularly useful for presenting and distributing their results," he predicted. WebLab ViewerPro supports Molecular Simulations' WebLab software environment, which "creates a virtual laboratory for our customers to run computational experiments and access public and proprietary databases," he added, noting that more WebLab applications for analytical, medicinal, and combinatorial chemists will be released later this year.
WebLab ViewerPro costs $499 and can be purchased online at http://www.msi.com/weblab/. Multiple licenses and academic pricing are also available. A basic version, WebLab ViewerLite, has been available free on the web site for over a year.