November 15, 2007 (Vol. 27, No. 20)

URL:
http://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/products/life_sciences/relibase

Rating:
Strong Points: Useful analyses
Weak Points: Awkward interfaces

Summary:
I’m in favor of simplifying things, so when I saw Relibase+ self-described as “easy searching of protein-ligand complexes,” I naturally had to take a look. Sadly, I was disappointed to learn that Relibase+ is a commercial product, but in poking around I discovered a free, web-based version called Relibase, open to anyone, available through the site. While access to that tool was a bit awkward due to the company’s focus on selling Relibase+, I nevertheless was able to find a search engine where I could enter a sequence to query the database for ligands that would bind my target sequence. While the interface was simple, the speed was SLOW, but the results were worth the wait. From a short target sequence entry, Relibase identified dozens of potential ligands. While I wouldn’t want to try to wade through these for an article like this one, I’m sure researchers would welcome such potential target info. I would like to see better organization of returned results and easier access to the search engine, but the hassles of the site are justified by the returned analyses.

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