ChimeraX Recipes

Connect nearby atoms

Here is Python code defining a command “connect” that adds bonds between nearby atoms within a specified distance. I was trying to make a hydrated iron-oxide crystal ferrihydrite from the asymmetric unit and used this connect to command to make appropriate bonds. Open the Python code to define the command

open connect.py

then use the command to bond atoms in the crystal made from asymmetric unit ferrihydrite6_asym_unit.cif.

open ferrihydrite6_asym_unit.cif
unitcell #1 cells 4,4,2
combine #2 name ferrihydrite6_crystal

The crystal has lots of overlapped atoms so we delete those using some other custom code defining the overlap command

overlap #3
delete sel

Then add bonds

connect #3

The authors of this crystal structure say the hydrogen positions are uncertain. We add them to the O1 atom to make it a water. To make the water from O1 disconnect it from the irons, set the hybridization state to O3, and add hydrogens

~bond #3@O1 | Fe
setattr #3@O1 atoms idatm_type O3
addh #3

We color the water oxygens blue and save the result ferrihydrite6_crystal.mol2

color #3@O1 blue
save ferrihydrite6_crystal.mol2 model #3

Here is the connect.py code:

#
# Add bonds between close atoms.  For example,
#
#     connect #1
#
def connect_atoms(session, atoms, to_atoms = None, distance = 2.2):
    if to_atoms is None:
        to_atoms = atoms
    xyz = to_atoms.scene_coords
    bonds = []
    from chimerax.geometry import find_close_points
    for a in atoms:
        i1, i2 = find_close_points([a.scene_coord], xyz, distance)
        for a2 in to_atoms[i2]:
            if a2 is not a and not a2.connects_to(a):
                b = a.structure.new_bond(a, a2)
                bonds.append(b)
    session.logger.status(f'Made {len(bonds)} bonds between'
                          f' {len(atoms)} and {len(to_atoms)} atoms',
                          log = True)
    return bonds

def register_command(logger):
    from chimerax.core.commands import register, CmdDesc, FloatArg
    from chimerax.atomic import AtomsArg
    desc = CmdDesc(required = [('atoms', AtomsArg)],
                   keyword = [('to_atoms', AtomsArg),
                              ('distance', FloatArg)],
                   synopsis='Connect close atoms')
    register('connect', desc, connect_atoms, logger=logger)

register_command(session.logger)

Tom Goddard, March 16, 2022