Searching of chemical structure data bases with parallel computer hardware

The use of two types of parallel computer hardware for increasing the efficiency of processing in chemical structure data bases is discussed. The distributed array processor can be used for the clustering of 2-D chemical structure data bases by using the Jarvis—Patrick clustering method and for the ranking of output in an experimental system for substructure searching in the 3-D macromolecules in the Protein Data Bank. The Inmos transputer can be used in the construction of PC-based systems for 2-D substructure searching and in the identification of the maximal substructures common to pairs of 3-D molecules.