ImmunoNodes - graphical development of complex immunoinformatics workflows

Abstract

Background: Immunoinformatics has become a crucial part in biomedical research. Yet many immunoinformatics tools have command line interfaces only and can be difficult to install. Web-based immunoinformatics tools, on the other hand, are difficult to integrate with other tools, which is typically required for the complex analysis and prediction pipelines required for advanced applications. Result: We present ImmunoNodes, an immunoinformatics toolbox that is fully integrated into the visual workflow environment KNIME. By dragging and dropping tools and connecting them to indicate the data flow through the pipeline, it is possible to construct very complex workflows without the need for coding. Conclusion: ImmunoNodes allows users to build complex workflows with an easy to use and intuitive interface with a few clicks on any desktop computer.