June 1, 2012 (Vol. 32, No. 11)
URL:
http://bit.ly/JdsgEv
Rating:
Strong Points: Starting templates for a number of molecule classes
Weak Points: No help/introduction section
Platform:
iPad/iPhone
Cost:
Free
Summary:
Molecular Materials Informatics wants you to get your chemical drawing juices flowing with its free drawing app, MolPrime. This app, which utilizes the sketcher from the Mobile Molecular DataSheet, allows users to quickly (and enjoyably) draw chemical structures that can subsequently be emailed or used to search ChemSpider or Mobile Reagents. When users wish to draw a new structure, they can select from a number of starting points, including atoms, small rings, multidentate ligands, and biomolecules. Thus, one need not tediously draw a complex saccharide structure bond-by-bond, atom-by-atom. At any time during construction of the drawing, one can take a glance at the physical properties of the molecule, including molecular weight and formula, number of rotatable bonds, and valences. Noticeably absent from the app is an introduction/help section, which would certainly be useful to familiarize users with the app’s features.