# RCSB PDB Structure Lookup

> RCSB PDB Structure Lookup is a paid API for AI agents from saylorinnovations.com, paid per call via x402, $0.002/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-01).

Retrieves detailed structural metadata for a Protein Data Bank entry by PDB ID, including title, experimental method, resolution, polymer chains, ligands, and citation links.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://saylorinnovations.com/api/bio/pdb/:pdb_id?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.002/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-01
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/rcsb-pdb-structure-lookup-81c46605
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_QuSdMi0V2ejTh5S8vnB7t

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability rcsb-pdb-structure-lookup-81c46605
```

Example prompt: Can you look up the PDB structure 4HHB and tell me the experimental method, resolution, polymer chains with their organisms and UniProt IDs, and any bound ligands?

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need comprehensive structural metadata for a specific PDB entry in a single call, including chain-level organism/UniProt annotations and ligand details. Prefer this over directly querying RCSB PDB APIs when you need a simple, agent-friendly interface with per-call micropayment pricing and no API key management.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid or nonexistent PDB ID returns a 404 or empty result
- Malformed PDB ID format (not 4 alphanumeric characters) may return a validation error
- Upstream RCSB PDB service outage causes timeout or 502 error
- Payment failure (insufficient USDC) blocks the request before processing

## How this service works

Protein Data Bank Structure (RCSB PDB). Protein Data Bank structure lookup by PDB id (4HHB): title, experimental method, resolution, release date, molecular weight, each polymer chain with organism and UniProt ids, bound ligands with formulas, primary citation (DOI, PubMed) and coordinate file links. RCSB PDB, CC0.

## Output

Returns a structured JSON object containing the PDB entry's title, experimental method (e.g. X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM), resolution, release date, molecular weight, a list of polymer chains each annotated with organism and UniProt IDs, bound ligands with their chemical formulas, the primary citation with DOI and PubMed ID, and links to coordinate files.

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/rcsb-pdb-structure-lookup-81c46605/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from saylorinnovations.com](https://www.zero.xyz/host/saylorinnovations.com/llms.txt)