Views of Biological Macromolecules on the World-Wide Web: The IMB Jena Image Library

The IMB Jena Image Library of Biological Macromolecules (http://www.imb-jena.de/IMAGE.html) is a freely accessible Internet archive with three-dimensional (3D) structural information on proteins, nucleic acids and carbohydrates and an emphasis on visualization. The visualization techniques used include static mono and stereo representations, virtual reality modeling, the usage of public domain molecular graphics programs, which require a local installation, and Java applets where both the program and the underlying coordinate file are transferred over the web. By combining automatic and manual processing it is possible to keep pace with the rapidly growing number of known biopolymer structures and, nevertheless, to provide, at least for selected entries, information which cannot be obtained from automatic procedures. To complement visual information each structure entry contains also links to other structural, sequence and bibliographic databases. In addition, the Library has a division with information on basic principles of biopolymer architecture. The Image Library is a visual interface to 3D biopolymer structures which intends to fulfill both scientific and educational needs.