AN ALGORITHM FOR THE SIMULTANEOUS SUPERPOSITION OF A STRUCTURAL SERIES

A procedure is delineated for finding the optimal superposition of a series of chemical structures. Quaternions are used to represent the absolute orientation of the structures–rotations of the structures need never be carried out explicitly. The Rational Function Optimization method is used to minimize a simultaneous superposition residual similar to the one given by Gerber and Müller. The robustness of the method is illustrated by comparing a series of conformations of a polyene carotenoid. Copyright © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.