The requested molecular graphics system will be the central molecular structure analysis facility for research in intermolecular interactions, especially molecular recognition. The system's most crucial feature for molecular recognition research is the docking software, a capability not presently available at LSU. Users will employ the system's force-field calculational packages to refine their models. The system will be linked into the local EtherNet and become an integral part of the campus's computational network. Users will then be able to access structural data from virtually anywhere. The demand for molecular graphics at LSU has increased dramatically recently. Both the complexity of the structures under study and the number of researchers studying biomolecules has increased. The molecular graphics system will be used to study molecular recognition in proteins (Gandour, Koppenol, Winston), nucleic acids (Barkley, Morden, Zimmer), polysaccharides (Laine) and hormones (Coy). Other users (Butler, Hall, Kestner, McLaughlin, Robson) will use the system to study fundamental problems in intermolecular interactions in marcromolecules and molecular aggregates.
