NOC

NOC has been developed as a potent alternative for molecular exploration of protein structures, complete with visualization capabilities, analysis and crystallographic mapping.

The application does not need to be installed and it can be launched as soon as the contents of the downloaded archive are extracted.

Looks are far from being impressive and some users may feel a bit uneasy about the console-based interface but there is a GUI available, too.

The tool can be used with particle systems in PDB format and opening the data for visualizing and analyzing the protein structure can be done easily, even from the context menu of the application window.

The files that can be opened with NOC include Gromacs, Amber and HKL (reflection) data. There is also the possibility to load electron density maps.

As far as the functions referring to crystallographic analysis, the application can show show a periodic cell box, display molecules with similar symmetry or the contact molecules in crystal.

NOC is quite complex in terms of options and overall functionality as it offers a wide range of options for customizing structures by moving the atoms around.

The developer provides documentation on how it can be used and the purposes it can serve but users need to have sufficient knowledge about molecular biology in order to understand the true value of the program.

Working with the application is intended for users with experience in the field of molecular biology. It features plenty of options and the developer offers information about the tasks that can be achieved and how to carry out the process.