Resources

3D Printable Molecular Model Kits

• Ready-to-print DNA modeling kit

  • Stacks of backbone and nucleobase parts

  • 3 types of engineered connectors for easy assembly and disassembly

  • STLs for 100% part stacks available at https://3d.nih.gov/entries/3DPX-017650

  • STLs for 75% part stacks available at https://3d.nih.gov/entries/3DPX-018017

• Journal article describing kit and nanoechnological applications

  • "Modular, articulated models of DNA and peptide nucleic acids for nanotechnology education" by Caleigh Goodwin-Schoen and Rebecca E. Taylor. The Biophysicist. 2023.

  • Link to paper doi 10.35459/tbp.2022.000225

• Classroom activities

  • Guides construction of a DNA duplex, a polymerase demonstration, molecular tweezers and Holliday junction

  • Supplementary materials PDF

Reprinted from Goodwin-Schoen and Taylor. The Biophysicist (2023) doi:10.35459/tbp.2022.000225

MoleculeCrafter Built in Onshape

• Semi-automated design of ANY molecular model is possible using MoleculeCrafter and we are initially focusing on nucleic acids

  • MoleculeCrafter is a suite of custom Features built within the online computer aided design tool Onshape.

  • Our custom converters extract atomic coordinate data from PDB files

  • This data can be imported into Onshape, and parts can be unitized and given custom connectors that support interconnection of parts when 3D printed.

  • Example input CSVs are provided below. These CSV files can be imported into MoleculeCrafter for model-creation learning activities.

• Journal article describing the MoleculeCrafter software tool and tutorials for getting started.

  • "MoleculeCrafter and Noncanonical Base Pairing: A Semiautomated CAD Tool for Creating Flexible and Unitized 3D Printable Macromolecules for Education" by Elsa Schleicher and Rebecca E. Taylor. The Journal of Chemical Education. 2025.

  • Link to paper doi 10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00160

• Step-by-step tutorial for model kit creation and detailed background on FeatureScript custom features

  • Supplementary information and tutorial PDF

Reprinted from Schleicher and Taylor. The Journal of Chemical Education (2025) doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00160

MoleculeCrafter Tutorials on Youtube

• MoleculeCrafter Tutorial Part 1 - Getting Molecular Data from a Database

• MoleculeCrafter Tutorial Part 2 - Viewing the File in ChimeraX:

• MoleculeCrafter Tutorial Part 3 - Parsing the Data:

• MoleculeCrafter Tutorial Part 4 - Creating Molecules and Adding Connectors:

• MoleculeCrafter Tutorial Part 5 - Scaling, Aligning, and Stacking