iBET: Immersive visualization of biological electron-transfer dynamics

[Display omitted] •Immersive scientific visualization demonstrated on a commodity VR system.•3D electron transfer dynamics demonstrate the need for immersive visualization.•Game engines enhance stereographic rendering with rich programmability and true VR.•iBET played critical role in revealing underlying electron transfer mechanisms.•Detailed explanations of the procedure allow for extension to other applications Recently, we presented a computational framework named VizBET to simulate and visualize biological electron-transfer (ET) dynamics. The visualization process was encapsulated as a plugin to the Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD) software. However, the user’s ability to understand complex, multidimensional ET pathways was severely limited when visualized in 2D on traditional computer monitors. To provide a more accurate representation with enhanced depth perception, we here present an extension of VizBET named iBET to render the VMD model of ET dynamics in a commodity virtual reality (VR) platform. The paper describes detailed procedures to export VMD models into the Unity game engine and render it in an Oculus Rift head mounted display. With the increasing availability of low-cost VR systems like the Rift and rich programmability of game engines, the iBET framework provides a powerful means to explore and understand not only biological ET processes but also a unique experiential tool for broad scientific communities.