FreeSASA: An open source C library for solvent accessible surface area calculations

TL;DR

FreeSASA is a versatile, open-source C library that efficiently calculates solvent accessible surface areas, offering easy integration, multiple interfaces, and comparable or improved accuracy over existing tools.

Contribution

It introduces a flexible, open-source library with multiple interfaces for SASA calculations, enhancing accessibility and integration in structural biology workflows.

Findings

Provides accurate SASA calculations with improved speed

Offers easy-to-use command-line and Python interfaces

Compatible with various platforms and configurations

Abstract

Calculating solvent accessible surface areas (SASA) is a run-of-the-mill calculation in structural biology. Although there are many programs available for this calculation, there are no free-standing, open-source tools designed for easy tool-chain integration. FreeSASA is an open source C library for SASA calculations that provides both command-line and Python interfaces in addition to its C API. The library implements both Lee and Richards' and Shrake and Rupley's approximations, and is highly configurable to allow the user to control molecular parameters, accuracy and output granularity. It only depends on standard C libraries and should therefore be easy to compile and install on any platform. The source code is freely available from http://freesasa.github.io/. The library is well-documented, stable and efficient. The command-line interface can easily replace closed source legacy programs, with comparable or better accuracy and speed, and with some added functionality.