diff --git a/Utility functions/str2substruct.m b/Utility functions/str2substruct.m
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e9eb32d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Utility functions/str2substruct.m	
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+% Convert textual representation of a Matlab expression to structure that 
+% can be used by subsref and subsasgn functions  
+function [varname, S] = str2substruct(str)
+    % Match variable name
+    vn = '^(?<varname>\w+)';           % pattern for base variable name
+    name_re_out=regexp(str,vn,'match');
+    
+    % Check that the variable name had single match
+    if length(name_re_out)==1
+        varname=name_re_out{1};
+    elseif length(name_re_out)>1
+        error('Multiple matches are found for variable name.')
+    else
+        error('No matches are found for variable name.')
+    end
+    
+    % Next match references to structure fields (or class properties), 
+    % array indices and cell indices 
+    
+    % Define pattern to find comma-separated integers, possibly 
+    % surrounded by white spaces
+    csint = '(( *[0-9]+ *,)*( *[0-9]+ *))';
+    
+    aind = ['(?<arrind>\(',csint,'\))'];   % array index pattern
+    cind = ['(?<cellind>{',csint,'})'];    % cell index pattern
+    fn = '(?<fieldname>\.\w+)';            % field name pattern
+    
+    re_out=regexp(str,[fn,'|',aind,'|',cind],'names');
+    
+    type_cell=cell(1,length(re_out));
+    subs_cell=cell(1,length(re_out));
+    for i=1:length(re_out)
+        if ~isempty(re_out(i).arrind)
+            type_cell{i}='()';
+            % Split, discarding the first and the last characters that are
+            % braces, and then convert to numbers.
+            char_ind=regexp(re_out(i).arrind(2:end-1),',','split');
+            subs_cell{i}=num2cell(str2double(char_ind));
+        elseif ~isempty(re_out(i).cellind)
+            type_cell{i}='{}';
+            % Split, discarding the first and the last characters that are
+            % braces, and then convert to numbers.
+            char_ind=regexp(re_out(i).cellind(2:end-1),',','split');
+            subs_cell{i}=num2cell(str2double(char_ind));
+        elseif ~isempty(re_out(i).fieldname)
+            type_cell{i}='.';
+            % remove '.' from the matched expression
+            subs_cell{i}=re_out(i).fieldname(2:end);
+        end
+    end
+    S=struct('type', type_cell, 'subs', subs_cell);
+end
+