Search Related Features
Basic Search
From any page on the site, a Basic Search can be run by entering a search term in the top Search Bar.
Use the dropdown to the left of the search bar to define the search scope, which can be either “PDB Archive” or “Documentation”.
As you enter a term, you will see a list suggestions in the dropdown menu that appears below the search bar. You can click on an item in the menu, or, if no menu appears for the term or terms you have entered, click the
Advanced Search
The Advanced Search Query Builder tool allows you to construct complex boolean queries by specifying values for a wide range of structure attributes.
Text-based queries can be combined with sequence and structure similarity searches.
Search results can be returned at the structure, entity, or assembly level, and viewed in a variety of formats, for example, as a summary view, an images only gallery view, or in a Tabular Report format.
Any query and its results can be further refined by selecting additional criteria from the 'Refinements' panel.
Search by Sequences
Search protein and nucleic acid sequences using the mmseqs2 method to find similar protein or nucleic acid chains in the PDB.
The new Advanced Search Query Builder tool can be used to run sequence searches, and to combine the results with the other search criteria that are available.
Chemical Sketch Tool
You can search the PDB archive for a specific ligand or similar ligands based on the 2D chemical drawing of a molecule. In doing so you don’t have to know the specific chemical descriptors (e.g., SMILES and/or InChI) because they will be automatically generated. You can also edit a molecule that is drawn or loaded into the tool to add or remove atoms or groups of atoms and then use the new molecule to query the PDB archive.
Search by Unreleased & Access New Entries
The PDB archive is updated weekly in two phases
Phase I: Every Saturday by 3:00 UTC, for every new entry, wwPDB website provides sequence(s) (amino acid or nucleotide) for each distinct polymer and, where appropriate, the InChI string(s) for each distinct ligand and the crystallization pH value(s).
Phase II: Every Wednesday by 00:00 UTC, all new and modified data entries will be updated at each of the wwPDB FTP sites.
As of Tue May 24 2022 there are 190841 structures.
Browse by Annotation
PDB entries have been annotated by various ontologies and hierarchical classification schemes.
- Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System
- Biological Process
- CATH (Structure Classification)
- Cellular Component
- Enzyme Classification
- Genome Location
- MeSH (Medical Subject Headings)
- Molecular Function
- mpstruc (Membrane Proteins)
- OPM (Membrane Proteins)
- Protein Symmetry
- SCOP (Structure Classification)
- Source Organism
PDB Data Distributions
The PDB Data Distributions feature on the home page allows you to quickly view the archive in a series of pie charts. Each chart displays a statistical drilldown of the data in the following categories:
- Scientific Name of Source Organism
- Taxonomy
- Experimental Method (Broader Categories)
- Polymer Entity Type
- Refinement Resolution (Å)
- Release Date
- Enzyme Classification Name
- Symmetry Type
- SCOP Classification
In addition, the drilldown data includes links to the Search Results page, where the data can be explored in greater detail.
Search PDB Statistics
The PDB Statistics page lists the current holdings in the PDB and various growth statistics and histograms.
- Summary Table of Released Entries
- Growth of Released Structures Per Year
- Growth of X-ray Structures Per Year
Search Ligands
Search ligands bound to macromolecules in the PDB by:
- SMILES String, InChI
- Chemical Formula
Search by Drugs & Drug Targets
Drugs & Drug Targets in the PDB have been mapped to DrugBank. They have been made available through the integrated search system. You can find some search examples under the help examples page.
Drug-Target Complex: Atorvastatin bound to its target HMG-CoA reductase
Drug: Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
