A reparameterization of empirical hydrocarbon force field MM2 for improved performance in torsional energy surface calculations

Structural versatility of peptides containing C alpha, alpha-dialkylated glycines: conformational energy computations, i.r. absorption and 1H n.m.r. analysis of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid homopeptides

Conformational energy computations on the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid mono-, di-, and tripeptide amides, Ac-(Ac3c)n-NHMe (n = 1-3), indicate that this C alpha, alpha-dialkylated, cyclic alpha-amino acid residue is conformally restricted and that type-I(I') beta-bends and distorted 3(10)-helices are particularly stable conformations for the di- and tripeptide amides, respectively. The results of the theoretical analysis are in agreement with those obtained in an i.r. absorption and 1H n.m.r. investigation in chloroform solution of Ac3c-rich tri- and tetrapeptide esters. A comparison is also made with the conclusions extracted from our previous work on peptides rich in Aib (alpha-aminoisobutyric acid), Ac5c (1-aminocyclopentane-1-carboxylic acid), and Ac6c (1-aminocyclohexane-1-carboxylic acid).

A modification to the COSMIC parameterisation using ab initio constrained potential functions

The H..H non-bonded potential employed in the current COSMIC force field has been contrasted with H..H potentials used in a number of other force fields. Initial conversion of the variety of functions to a Morse format, achieved using a simple graphical fitting procedure, allowed a direct comparison to be made, showing the COSMIC potential to differ considerably from the other potentials. This difference was reflected in the failure of COSMIC to reproduce ab initio and experimental energies for molecules with significant H..H interactions, with particular reference to the energy curves of benzophenone and diphenyl ether. Considerable improvement in these energies is produced by the use of a Morse function originally based on the H..H potential used in MM3.