Openbabel Conversion

OpenBabel Format Conversion & 3D Coordinate Generation

One-line summary: Convert chemical file formats, generate 3D structures, enumerate conformers, and apply reaction SMARTS using OpenBabel and RDKit.

When to Use This Skill

• When converting between SDF, SMILES, MOL2, PDB, XYZ, and other chemical formats
• When generating 3D coordinates from 2D SMILES strings (for docking or MD)
• When enumerating low-energy conformers for virtual screening
• When applying reaction SMARTS to transform molecules
• When standardizing molecular representations across databases
• When preparing ligand libraries for structure-based drug discovery

Trigger keywords: format conversion, SDF to SMILES, mol2 PDB, 3D coordinate generation, conformer generation, reaction SMARTS, OpenBabel, obabel

Background & Key Concepts

Chemical File Formats

3D Coordinate Generation

Generating 3D coordinates from a 2D SMILES requires:

1. Ring perception and stereochemistry assignment
2. Distance geometry or systematic torsion search
3. Force-field minimization (MMFF94, UFF)

OpenBabel uses the OBBuilder class for this; RDKit uses the EmbedMolecule/ETKDG algorithm.

Conformer Generation

For flexible molecules, multiple conformers span the accessible conformational space. The ETKDG (Experimental Torsion angle Knowledge Distance Geometry) method in RDKit produces pharmacophorically relevant conformers.

Environment Setup

Install Dependencies

# OpenBabel (recommended via conda for easiest install)
conda install -c conda-forge openbabel

# RDKit
conda install -c conda-forge rdkit

# Or pip
pip install openbabel-wheel rdkit pandas numpy matplotlib

Verify Installation

import openbabel.openbabel as ob
from rdkit import Chem
from rdkit.Chem import AllChem

mol = Chem.MolFromSmiles("CCO")
print(f"Ethanol atoms: {mol.GetNumAtoms()}")
obconv = ob.OBConversion()
print(f"OpenBabel version: {ob.OBReleaseVersion()}")
# Expected: Ethanol atoms: 3

Core Workflow

Step 1: Format Interconversion with OpenBabel

import openbabel.openbabel as ob

def convert_format(input_str, from_fmt, to_fmt, gen3d=False):
    """
    Convert a chemical string from one format to another.

    Parameters
    ----------
    input_str : str
        Input chemical string (SMILES, InChI, etc.)
    from_fmt : str
        Input format ('smi', 'inchi', 'sdf', 'mol2', 'pdb', 'xyz')
    to_fmt : str
        Output format
    gen3d : bool
        If True, generate 3D coordinates before conversion

    Returns
    -------
    str
        Converted chemical string
    """
    obconv = ob.OBConversion()
    obconv.SetInAndOutFormats(from_fmt, to_fmt)

    mol = ob.OBMol()
    obconv.ReadString(mol, input_str)

    if mol.NumAtoms() == 0:
        raise ValueError(f"Failed to parse input as {from_fmt}")

    if gen3d:
        builder = ob.OBBuilder()
        builder.Build(mol)
        ff = ob.OBForceField.FindForceField("MMFF94")
        if ff:
            ff.Setup(mol)
            ff.ConjugateGradients(500)
            ff.GetCoordinates(mol)

    mol.AddHydrogens()
    return obconv.WriteString(mol)

# Examples
smiles_list = [
    "CC(=O)Oc1ccccc1C(=O)O",   # Aspirin
    "c1ccc(cc1)C(=O)O",         # Benzoic acid
    "CC12CCC3C(C1CCC2O)CCC4=CC(=O)CCC34C",  # Testosterone
]

for smi in smiles_list:
    inchi = convert_format(smi, "smi", "inchi")
    pdb_3d = convert_format(smi, "smi", "pdb", gen3d=True)
    print(f"SMILES: {smi[:30]}...")
    print(f"  InChI: {inchi.strip()[:50]}...")
    print(f"  PDB (first line): {pdb_3d.splitlines()[0]}")
    print()

Step 2: 3D Coordinate Generation with RDKit ETKDG

from rdkit import Chem
from rdkit.Chem import AllChem, Draw
from rdkit.Chem.rdForceFieldHelpers import MMFFOptimizeMolecule
import numpy as np

def generate_3d_conformers(smiles, n_confs=50, seed=42):
    """
    Generate multiple 3D conformers via ETKDG, return lowest-energy one.

    Returns
    -------
    rdkit.Chem.Mol with 3D coordinates, conformer energies array
    """
    mol = Chem.MolFromSmiles(smiles)
    if mol is None:
        raise ValueError(f"Invalid SMILES: {smiles}")

    mol = Chem.AddHs(mol)

    # ETKDG v3 (best for drug-like molecules)
    params = AllChem.ETKDGv3()
    params.randomSeed = seed
    params.numThreads = 0   # use all cores
    params.pruneRmsThresh = 0.5  # remove similar conformers

    conf_ids = AllChem.EmbedMultipleConfs(mol, numConfs=n_confs, params=params)
    if len(conf_ids) == 0:
        raise RuntimeError("ETKDG embedding failed — check SMILES validity")

    # MMFF94 optimization
    energies = []
    for cid in conf_ids:
        res = MMFFOptimizeMolecule(mol, confId=cid, maxIters=2000)
        if res == 0:  # converged
            ff = AllChem.MMFFGetMoleculeForceField(mol,
                    AllChem.MMFFGetMoleculeProperties(mol), confId=cid)
            energies.append(ff.CalcEnergy() if ff else float('inf'))
        else:
            energies.append(float('inf'))

    energies = np.array(energies)
    best_conf_id = int(conf_ids[np.argmin(energies)])

    # Keep only lowest-energy conformer for output
    best_mol = Chem.RWMol(mol)
    best_mol = best_mol.GetMol()

    print(f"Generated {len(conf_ids)} conformers")
    print(f"Energy range: {energies.min():.2f} – {energies.max():.2f} kcal/mol")
    return best_mol, best_conf_id, energies

# Aspirin
mol_3d, cid, ens = generate_3d_conformers("CC(=O)Oc1ccccc1C(=O)O", n_confs=20)
print(f"Best conformer energy: {ens.min():.2f} kcal/mol")

# Save to SDF
from rdkit.Chem import SDWriter
with SDWriter("aspirin_confs.sdf") as w:
    for conf_id in range(mol_3d.GetNumConformers()):
        w.write(mol_3d, confId=conf_id)
print("Saved aspirin_confs.sdf")

Step 3: Reaction SMARTS Application

from rdkit import Chem
from rdkit.Chem import AllChem
from rdkit.Chem.Draw import MolToImage
import pandas as pd

def apply_reaction(reactant_smiles, rxn_smarts):
    """
    Apply a reaction SMARTS to a reactant SMILES.

    Returns
    -------
    list of product SMILES strings
    """
    rxn = AllChem.ReactionFromSmarts(rxn_smarts)
    if rxn is None:
        raise ValueError(f"Invalid reaction SMARTS: {rxn_smarts}")

    reactant = Chem.MolFromSmiles(reactant_smiles)
    if reactant is None:
        raise ValueError(f"Invalid SMILES: {reactant_smiles}")

    products = rxn.RunReactants((reactant,))
    product_smiles = []
    for prod_tuple in products:
        for prod in prod_tuple:
            try:
                Chem.SanitizeMol(prod)
                smi = Chem.MolToSmiles(prod)
                product_smiles.append(smi)
            except Exception:
                pass
    return list(set(product_smiles))  # deduplicate

# Example reactions
reactions = {
    "ester_hydrolysis":   "[C:1](=O)[O:2][C:3]>>[C:1](=O)[O:2].[C:3]",
    "amide_formation":    "[C:1](=O)[OH].[N:2]>>[C:1](=O)[N:2]",
    "aromatic_nitration": "c:1:c:c:c:c:c1>>[c:1]c(cc:c:c:c1)[N+](=O)[O-]",
}

test_molecules = {
    "ester_hydrolysis":   "CC(=O)OCC",    # ethyl acetate
    "amide_formation":    "CC(=O)O",       # acetic acid + NH3 (separate reactant)
}

for rxn_name, smarts in reactions.items():
    if rxn_name in test_molecules:
        reactant = test_molecules[rxn_name]
        try:
            products = apply_reaction(reactant, smarts)
            print(f"\n{rxn_name}:")
            print(f"  Reactant:  {reactant}")
            print(f"  Products:  {products[:3]}")
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"{rxn_name}: {e}")

# Batch processing
records = []
smiles_batch = [
    "CC(=O)Oc1ccccc1C(=O)O",    # aspirin
    "CC12CCC3C(C1CCC2O)",        # steroid skeleton
    "c1ccc(cc1)C(=O)O",          # benzoic acid
]
for smi in smiles_batch:
    mol = Chem.MolFromSmiles(smi)
    if mol:
        records.append({
            "smiles": smi,
            "n_atoms": mol.GetNumAtoms(),
            "n_rings": mol.GetRingInfo().NumRings(),
            "inchi": Chem.MolToInchi(mol),
        })
df = pd.DataFrame(records)
print("\nBatch processing results:")
print(df[["smiles", "n_atoms", "n_rings"]].to_string(index=False))

Advanced Usage

Scaffold Decomposition and Murcko Scaffold

from rdkit import Chem
from rdkit.Chem.Scaffolds import MurckoScaffold
import pandas as pd

def get_murcko_scaffold(smiles, generic=False):
    """
    Extract Murcko scaffold (framework) from a molecule.
    generic=True returns the carbon skeleton (bemis-murcko generic scaffold).
    """
    mol = Chem.MolFromSmiles(smiles)
    if mol is None:
        return None
    scaffold = MurckoScaffold.GetScaffoldForMol(mol)
    if generic:
        scaffold = MurckoScaffold.MakeScaffoldGeneric(scaffold)
    return Chem.MolToSmiles(scaffold)

drugs = {
    "Sildenafil":   "CCCc1nn(C)c2c(=O)[nH]c(-c3cc(S(=O)(=O)N4CCN(C)CC4)ccc3OCC)nc12",
    "Ibuprofen":    "CC(C)Cc1ccc(cc1)C(C)C(=O)O",
    "Atorvastatin": "CC(C)c1c(C(=O)Nc2ccccc2F)c(-c2ccccc2)c(-c2ccc(F)cc2)n1CCC(O)CC(O)CC(=O)O",
}

scaffold_df = pd.DataFrame([
    {"drug": name, "smiles": smi,
     "scaffold": get_murcko_scaffold(smi),
     "generic_scaffold": get_murcko_scaffold(smi, generic=True)}
    for name, smi in drugs.items()
])
print(scaffold_df[["drug", "scaffold"]].to_string(index=False))

Troubleshooting

Error: Import "openbabel.openbabel" could not be resolved

Cause: OpenBabel Python bindings not installed correctly.

Fix:

# Prefer conda installation
conda install -c conda-forge openbabel

# Verify
python -c "import openbabel.openbabel as ob; print(ob.OBReleaseVersion())"

Issue: ETKDG returns 0 conformers

Cause: SMILES has unsupported features (e.g., unusual valence) or stereospecification issues.

Fix:

from rdkit import Chem
mol = Chem.MolFromSmiles(smiles)
# Check for sanitization warnings
from rdkit import RDLogger
RDLogger.DisableLog('rdApp.*')  # suppress
mol, problems = Chem.SanitizeMol(mol, catchErrors=True), Chem.DetectChemistryProblems(mol)
print(problems)

Version Compatibility

External Resources

Official Documentation

• OpenBabel Python bindings
• RDKit Conformer Generation

Key Papers

• Ebejer, J.P. et al. (2012). Freely Available Conformer Generation Methods. J. Chem. Inf. Model.
• Riniker, S. & Landrum, G.A. (2015). Better Informed Distance Geometry: Using What We Know. J. Chem. Inf. Model.

Examples

Example 1: Convert a CSV of SMILES to SDF with 3D Coordinates

# =============================================
# Batch SMILES → SDF with MMFF geometry
# =============================================
import pandas as pd
from rdkit import Chem
from rdkit.Chem import AllChem, SDWriter
from rdkit.Chem.rdForceFieldHelpers import MMFFOptimizeMolecule

smiles_data = pd.DataFrame({
    "name":   ["Aspirin", "Caffeine", "Dopamine"],
    "smiles": ["CC(=O)Oc1ccccc1C(=O)O",
               "Cn1cnc2c1c(=O)n(C)c(=O)n2C",
               "NCCc1ccc(O)c(O)c1"]
})

with SDWriter("library_3d.sdf") as writer:
    for _, row in smiles_data.iterrows():
        mol = Chem.MolFromSmiles(row["smiles"])
        if mol is None:
            print(f"WARN: could not parse {row['name']}")
            continue
        mol.SetProp("_Name", row["name"])
        mol = Chem.AddHs(mol)
        AllChem.EmbedMolecule(mol, AllChem.ETKDGv3())
        MMFFOptimizeMolecule(mol)
        writer.write(mol)

print("Saved library_3d.sdf")

Interpreting these results: The SDF file can be opened in PyMOL, Schrödinger, or AutoDock Vina for molecular docking.

Last updated: 2026-03-17 | Maintainer: @xjtulyc Issues: GitHub Issues