Molecular structure and interactions that determine the nature of biomolecules are difficult to imagine, even with the aid of graphics in textbooks. Several computational tools have been developed to visualize molecular structures, such as, PyMol, Chimera, JMol, Odyssey, etc. These are typically command line or standard GUI based applications that require moderate to advanced knowledge to be used effectively. To understand biomolecular structure and interactions in detail requires a 3D, dynamic perspective, and educational research indicates an inquiry-led approach is more effective than a didactic approach. Motivated by the need to enhance education and visual learning experience of students, we have developed a virtual reality (VR) educational “game” for visualization and manipulation of biomolecules based on concepts of molecular interactions that are taught in a dynamic immersive environment. Our VR platform educates students about the principles of intermolecular forces and structural manipulation. A series of video tutorials have been developed to teach bond strength, angle, torsion, inter- and intra- molecular hydrogen bonding in a classroom setting at low cost to meet key learning objectives. Our VR platform can load any Protein Data Bank (PDB) structure, visualize it with different structural representations, select atoms and bonds for manipulation by mutating amino acids, breaking bonds, rotations and torsional movements to discover important biomolecular interactions in a complex environment (e.g. protein binding site). Using our immersive VR game, the students are able to manipulate a molecule in 3D to optimize its interactions to discover the factors responsible for optimum binding, guided by a live score based on our CANDOCK software indicating the strength of interaction in real-time. We believe this platform will enhance student learning experience through exploration in an immersive environment by repurposing a well-adopted gaming technology for teaching.

Virtual reality environment to visualize and manipulate chemical interactions

255th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.