Thermodynamic stability of water molecules in the bacteriorhodopsin proton channel: a molecular dynamics free energy perturbation study

Localization and orientation of functional water molecules in bacteriorhodopsin as revealed by polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Linear dichroic difference Fourier transform infrared spectra upon formation of the M photointermediate were recorded with oriented purple membranes. The purpose was to determine the angle of the directions of the dipole moments of 1) the water molecule whose O-H stretching vibration appears at 3643 cm-1 for the unphotolyzed state and 3671 cm-1 for the M intermediate, and 2) the C=O bond of protonated Asp85 in the M intermediate. The angle of 36 degrees we find for the C=O of the protonated Asp85 in the M intermediate is not markedly different from 26 degrees for unprotonated Asp85 in the model based on cryoelectron diffraction, indicating the absence of gross orientation changes in Asp85 upon its protonation. The O-H band at 3671 cm-1 of a water molecule in the M intermediate, although its position has not determined, is fixed almost parallel to the membrane plane. For the unphotolyzed state the angle of the water O-H to the membrane normal was determined to be 60 degrees. On the basis of these data and the structural model, we place the water molecule in the unphotolyzed state at a position where it forms hydrogen bonds with the Schiff base, Asp85, Asp212, and Trp86.

The statistical-thermodynamic basis for computation of binding affinities: a critical review

Although the statistical thermodynamics of noncovalent binding has been considered in a number of theoretical papers, few methods of computing binding affinities are derived explicitly from this underlying theory. This has contributed to uncertainty and controversy in certain areas. This article therefore reviews and extends the connections of some important computational methods with the underlying statistical thermodynamics. A derivation of the standard free energy of binding forms the basis of this review. This derivation should be useful in formulating novel computational methods for predicting binding affinities. It also permits several important points to be established. For example, it is found that the double-annihilation method of computing binding energy does not yield the standard free energy of binding, but can be modified to yield this quantity. The derivation also makes it possible to define clearly the changes in translational, rotational, configurational, and solvent entropy upon binding. It is argued that molecular mass has a negligible effect upon the standard free energy of binding for biomolecular systems, and that the cratic entropy defined by Gurney is not a useful concept. In addition, the use of continuum models of the solvent in binding calculations is reviewed, and a formalism is presented for incorporating a limited number of solvent molecules explicitly.