Computational tools for drawing, building and displaying carbohydrates: a visual guide

TL;DR

This paper reviews computational tools for drawing, visualising, and modelling glycans, emphasizing their standard representations and comparing available software to aid glycobiologists in structure visualization tasks.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview and comparison of current computational tools for glycan visualization and modelling, aiding researchers in selecting appropriate software.

Findings

Comparison of available glycan visualization tools

Standardization of glycan representation

Guidance for researchers on software selection

Abstract

Drawing and visualisation of molecular structures are some of the most common tasks carried out in structural glycobiology, typically using various software. In this perspective article, we outline developments in the computational tools for the sketching, visualisation and modelling of glycans. The article also provides details on the standard representation of glycans, and glycoconjugates, which helps the communication of structure details within the scientific community. We highlight the comparative analysis of the available tools which could help researchers to perform various tasks related to structure representation and model building of glycans. These tools can be useful for glycobiologists or any researcher looking for a ready to use, simple program for the sketching or building of glycans.