def _format_ligand_dict(json_dict):
    """
    Format ligand dictionary.

    Parameters
    ----------
    json_dict : dict
        Dictionary with JSON file information.

    Returns
    -------
    dict
        Formatted dictionary as needed to initialize a Ligand object using **kwargs.
    """

    ligand_dict = {}
    ligand_dict["name"] = json_dict["ligand_name"]
    ligand_dict["smiles"] = json_dict["ligand_smiles"]
    ligand_dict["mdl_mol_buffer"] = json_dict["ligand_mdl_mol_buffer"]
    ligand_dict["atom_serials"] = [
        int(serial) for serial in json_dict["ligand_atom_serials"].split(",")
    ]

    return ligand_dict