Biomolecular modeling on iOS devices: Review and software comparison

Smartphones and tablets are becoming increasingly popular not solely as portable gadgets for communication, but also as devices for scientific use. Even good-quality mobile applications for bio-molecular modeling are now available for representing, studying, changing and sharing a variety of biological molecules. The greatest advantages of such applications are their accessibility, portability and reasonable price. This article summarizes the results of study of the existing molecular modeling software that is available for iOS mobile devices (Apple iPhone, iPad, iPad mini and iPod Touch), describes the best options and limitations of these applications, and provides a quick guide to start biomolecular visualization in one of the suggested software tools.