When presenting complex molecular assemblies, it’s often helpful to clearly show how components fit together. But how do you break apart a molecular complex in a clean, controlled way—without moving every atom manually?
This is where the Disassemble animation in SAMSON comes in. Whether you’re preparing a scientific presentation or creating an educational animation, disassembling molecules can help explain structure-function relationships, reveal binding regions, or clarify how subunits are arranged. However, doing so manually can be tedious and error-prone.
What the Disassemble Animation Does
The Disassemble animation automatically moves selected structural elements (atoms, groups, or meshes) away from their original positions. It does so in a non-destructive and reversible manner, which is ideal for presentations or teaching demonstrations. The new positions are automatically computed to produce a visually meaningful and collision-free separation, simplifying your workflow.
Fast Setup, No Manual Tweaking
Here’s how to add the Disassemble animation:
- Select the structural nodes or meshes you want to disassemble. If you forget this step, SAMSON will attempt to infer what you meant.
- Open the Animation panel via the Animator interface and double-click Disassemble.
- The selected nodes will now separate automatically between two keyframes. You can drag these keyframes to control timing.
The motion amplitude—how far each component moves—is computed automatically. If needed, you can modify the amplitude later using the Inspector panel.
Adding Personalization: Easing and Control
You can go beyond simple linear movements by changing the Easing curve. This defines how the separation speed evolves from one keyframe to the next—whether it’s gradual, sudden, or oscillatory. This fine control lets you tailor the animation to the pace of your explanation or presentation style.
Example Usage: Structural Deconstruction
Imagine you’re showing a receptor-ligand complex. With Disassemble, you can have the receptor slowly peel apart to reveal the ligand binding site, allowing your audience to visualize the interaction. Or you could separate a large protein domain-by-domain to walk through structural roles. Each of these effects can be achieved without needing to reposition residues manually, which would be both time-consuming and error-prone.
Pro Tips
- You can combine the Disassemble animation with others like Assemble and Hold atoms to create reversible or modular sequences.
- Use the Animator panel shortcut Ctrl+7 (or Cmd+7 on macOS) to quickly access animation options.
- You can always reposition keyframes and adjust interpolation after initial setup.
Want to Learn More?
The Disassemble animation is a powerful, time-saving tool when working with complex geometries or molecular models. You can explore it further on the SAMSON documentation page here: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/disassemble/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.