1
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Schwerdtfeger P, Wales DJ. 100 Years of the Lennard-Jones Potential. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:3379-3405. [PMID: 38669689 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
It is now 100 years since Lennard-Jones published his first paper introducing the now famous potential that bears his name. It is therefore timely to reflect on the many achievements, as well as the limitations, of this potential in the theory of atomic and molecular interactions, where applications range from descriptions of intermolecular forces to molecules, clusters, and condensed matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Schwerdtfeger
- Centre for Theoretical Chemistry and Physics, The New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study, Massey University Auckland, Private Bag 102904, Auckland 0745, New Zealand
| | - David J Wales
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K
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2
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Woods EJ, Wales DJ. Analysis and interpretation of first passage time distributions featuring rare events. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:1640-1657. [PMID: 38059562 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04199a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
In this contribution we consider theory and associated computational tools to treat the kinetics associated with competing pathways on multifunnel energy landscapes. Multifunnel landscapes are associated with molecular switches and multifunctional materials, and are expected to exhibit multiple relaxation time scales and associated thermodynamic signatures in the heat capacity. Our focus here is on the first passage time distribution, which is encoded in a kinetic transition network containing all the locally stable states and the pathways between them. This network can be renormalised to reduce the dimensionality, while exactly conserving the mean first passage time and approximately conserving the full distribution. The structure of the reduced network can be visualised using disconnectivity graphs. We show how features in the first passage time distribution can be associated with specific kinetic traps, and how the appearance of competing relaxation time scales depends on the starting conditions. The theory is tested for two model landscapes and applied to an atomic cluster and a disordered peptide. Our most important contribution is probably the reconstruction of the full distribution for long time scales, where numerical problems prevent direct calculations. Here we combine accurate treatment of the mean first passage time with the reliable part of the distribution corresponding to faster time scales. Hence we now have a fundamental understanding of both thermodynamic and kinetic signatures of multifunnel landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esmae J Woods
- Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK.
| | - David J Wales
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK.
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3
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Woods EJ, Kannan D, Sharpe DJ, Swinburne TD, Wales DJ. Analysing ill-conditioned Markov chains. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2023; 381:20220245. [PMID: 37211032 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2022.0245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Discrete state Markov chains in discrete or continuous time are widely used to model phenomena in the social, physical and life sciences. In many cases, the model can feature a large state space, with extreme differences between the fastest and slowest transition timescales. Analysis of such ill-conditioned models is often intractable with finite precision linear algebra techniques. In this contribution, we propose a solution to this problem, namely partial graph transformation, to iteratively eliminate and renormalize states, producing a low-rank Markov chain from an ill-conditioned initial model. We show that the error induced by this procedure can be minimized by retaining both the renormalized nodes that represent metastable superbasins, and those through which reactive pathways concentrate, i.e. the dividing surface in the discrete state space. This procedure typically returns a much lower rank model, where trajectories can be efficiently generated with kinetic path sampling. We apply this approach to an ill-conditioned Markov chain for a model multi-community system, measuring the accuracy by direct comparison with trajectories and transition statistics. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Supercomputing simulations of advanced materials'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esmae J Woods
- Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Deepti Kannan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Daniel J Sharpe
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Thomas D Swinburne
- CNRS, CINaM UMR, Aix-Marseille Université, 7325, Campus de Luminy, 13288 Marseille, France
| | - David J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
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4
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Takahashi S, Iuchi S, Hiraoka S, Sato H. Theoretical and computational methodologies for understanding coordination self-assembly complexes. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:14659-14671. [PMID: 37051715 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp00082f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
This perspective highlights three theoretical and computational methods to capture the coordination self-assembly processes at the molecular level: quantum chemical modeling, molecular dynamics, and reaction network analysis. These methods cover the different scales from the metal-ligand bond to a more global aspect, and approaches that are best suited to understand the coordination self-assembly from different perspectives are introduced. Theoretical and numerical researches based on these methods are not merely ways of interpreting the experimental studies but complementary to them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoshi Takahashi
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan.
| | - Satoru Iuchi
- Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
| | - Shuichi Hiraoka
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan.
| | - Hirofumi Sato
- Department of Molecular Engineering, Kyoto University, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan.
- Fukui Institute for Fundamental Chemistry, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8103, Japan
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5
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Pracht P, Bannwarth C. Fast Screening of Minimum Energy Crossing Points with Semiempirical Tight-Binding Methods. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:6370-6385. [PMID: 36121838 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The investigation of photochemical processes is a highly active field in computational chemistry. One research direction is the automated exploration and identification of minimum energy conical intersection (MECI) geometries. However, due to the immense technical effort required to calculate nonadiabatic potential energy landscapes, the routine application of such computational protocols is severely limited. In this study, we will discuss the prospect of combining adiabatic potential energy surfaces from semiempirical quantum mechanical calculations with specialized confinement potential and metadynamics simulations to identify S0/T1 minimum energy crossing point (MECP) geometries. It is shown that MECPs calculated at the GFN2-xTB level can provide suitable approximations to high-level S0/S1ab initio conical intersection geometries at a fraction of the computational cost. Reference MECIs of benzene are studied to illustrate the basic concept. An example application of the presented protocol is demonstrated for a set of photoswitch molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Pracht
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Melatener Str. 20, 52056Aachen, Germany
| | - Christoph Bannwarth
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Melatener Str. 20, 52056Aachen, Germany
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6
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Abstract
Multifunctional systems, such as molecular switches, exhibit multifunnel energy landscapes associated with the alternative functional states. In this contribution the multifunnel organization is decoded from dynamical signatures in the first passage time distribution between reactants and products. Characteristic relaxation rates are revealed by analyzing the kinetics as a function of the observation time scale, which scans the underlying distribution. Extracting the corresponding dynamical signatures provides direct insight into the organization of the molecular energy landscape, which will facilitate a rational design of target functionality. Examples are illustrated for multifunnel landscapes in biomolecular systems and an atomic cluster.
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7
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Yang X, Lu ZY. Nanoparticle cluster formation mechanisms elucidated via Markov state modeling: Attraction range effects, aggregation pathways, and counterintuitive transition rates. J Chem Phys 2022; 156:214902. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0086110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Nanoparticle clusters are promising candidates for developing functional materials. However, it is still a challenging task to fabricate them in a predictable and controllable way, which requires investigation of the possible mechanisms underlying cluster formation at the nanoscale. By constructing Markov state models (MSMs) at the microstate level, we find that for highly dispersed particles to form a highly aggregated cluster, there are multiple coexisting pathways, which correspond to direct aggregation, or pathways that need to pass through partially aggregated, intermediate states. Varying the range of attraction between nanoparticles is found to significantly affect pathways. As the attraction range becomes narrower, compared to direct aggregation, some pathways that need to pass through partially aggregated intermediate states become more competitive. In addition, from MSMs constructed at the macrostate level, the aggregation rate is found to be counterintuitively lower with a lower free-energy barrier, which is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Yang
- Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
| | - Zhong-Yuan Lu
- Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
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8
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Nicy, Chakraborty D, Wales DJ. Energy Landscapes for Base-Flipping in a Model DNA Duplex. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:3012-3028. [PMID: 35427136 PMCID: PMC9098180 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c00340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
We explore the process of base-flipping for four central bases, adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, in a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) duplex using the energy landscape perspective. NMR imino-proton exchange and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy studies have been used in previous experiments to obtain lifetimes for bases in paired and extrahelical states. However, the difference of almost 4 orders of magnitude in the base-flipping rates obtained by the two methods implies that they are exploring different pathways and possibly different open states. Our results support the previous suggestion that minor groove opening may be favored by distortions in the DNA backbone and reveal links between sequence effects and the direction of opening, i.e., whether the base flips toward the major or the minor groove side. In particular, base flipping along the minor groove pathway was found to align toward the 5' side of the backbone. We find that bases align toward the 3' side of the backbone when flipping along the major groove pathway. However, in some cases for cytosine and thymine, the base flipping along the major groove pathway also aligns toward the 5' side. The sequence effect may be caused by the polar interactions between the flipping-base and its neighboring bases on either of the strands. For guanine flipping toward the minor groove side, we find that the equilibrium constant for opening is large compared to flipping via the major groove. We find that the estimated rates of base opening, and hence the lifetimes of the closed state, obtained for thymine flipping through small and large angles along the major groove differ by 6 orders of magnitude, whereas for thymine flipping through small angles along the minor groove and large angles along the major groove, the rates differ by 3 orders of magnitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicy
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, U.K.
| | - Debayan Chakraborty
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Texas at
Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - David J. Wales
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, U.K.
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9
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Abstract
We calculate transformation pathways between fullerene and octahedral carbon clusters and between a buckyball and its bowl-shaped isomer. The energies and gradients are provided by efficient tight-binding potentials, which are interfaced to our Energy Landscape exploration software. From the global energy landscape, we extract the mechanistic and kinetic parameters as a function of temperature, and compare our results to selected density functional theory (DFT) (PBE/cc-pVTZ) benchmarks. Infrared spectra are calculated to provide data for experimental identification of the clusters and differentiation of their isomers. Our results suggest that the formation of buckyballs from a buckybowl will be suppressed at elevated temperatures (above around 5250 K) due to entropic effects, which may provide useful insight into the detection of cosmic fullerenes.
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10
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Röder K, Wales DJ. The Energy Landscape Perspective: Encoding Structure and Function for Biomolecules. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:820792. [PMID: 35155579 PMCID: PMC8829389 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.820792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The energy landscape perspective is outlined with particular reference to biomolecules that perform multiple functions. We associate these multifunctional molecules with multifunnel energy landscapes, illustrated by some selected examples, where understanding the organisation of the landscape has provided new insight into function. Conformational selection and induced fit may provide alternative routes to realisation of multifunctionality, exploiting the possibility of environmental control and distinct binding modes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David J. Wales
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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11
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Sharpe DJ, Wales DJ. Nearly reducible finite Markov chains: Theory and algorithms. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:140901. [PMID: 34654307 DOI: 10.1063/5.0060978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Finite Markov chains, memoryless random walks on complex networks, appear commonly as models for stochastic dynamics in condensed matter physics, biophysics, ecology, epidemiology, economics, and elsewhere. Here, we review exact numerical methods for the analysis of arbitrary discrete- and continuous-time Markovian networks. We focus on numerically stable methods that are required to treat nearly reducible Markov chains, which exhibit a separation of characteristic timescales and are therefore ill-conditioned. In this metastable regime, dense linear algebra methods are afflicted by propagation of error in the finite precision arithmetic, and the kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm to simulate paths is unfeasibly inefficient. Furthermore, iterative eigendecomposition methods fail to converge without the use of nontrivial and system-specific preconditioning techniques. An alternative approach is provided by state reduction procedures, which do not require additional a priori knowledge of the Markov chain. Macroscopic dynamical quantities, such as moments of the first passage time distribution for a transition to an absorbing state, and microscopic properties, such as the stationary, committor, and visitation probabilities for nodes, can be computed robustly using state reduction algorithms. The related kinetic path sampling algorithm allows for efficient sampling of trajectories on a nearly reducible Markov chain. Thus, all of the information required to determine the kinetically relevant transition mechanisms, and to identify the states that have a dominant effect on the global dynamics, can be computed reliably even for computationally challenging models. Rare events are a ubiquitous feature of realistic dynamical systems, and so the methods described herein are valuable in many practical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Sharpe
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - David J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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12
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Sharpe DJ, Wales DJ. Numerical analysis of first-passage processes in finite Markov chains exhibiting metastability. Phys Rev E 2021; 104:015301. [PMID: 34412280 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.104.015301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
We describe state-reduction algorithms for the analysis of first-passage processes in discrete- and continuous-time finite Markov chains. We present a formulation of the graph transformation algorithm that allows for the evaluation of exact mean first-passage times, stationary probabilities, and committor probabilities for all nonabsorbing nodes of a Markov chain in a single computation. Calculation of the committor probabilities within the state-reduction formalism is readily generalizable to the first hitting problem for any number of alternative target states. We then show that a state-reduction algorithm can be formulated to compute the expected number of times that each node is visited along a first-passage path. Hence, all properties required to analyze the first-passage path ensemble (FPPE) at both a microscopic and macroscopic level of detail, including the mean and variance of the first-passage time distribution, can be computed using state-reduction methods. In particular, we derive expressions for the probability that a node is visited along a direct transition path, which proceeds without returning to the initial state, considering both the nonequilibrium and equilibrium (steady-state) FPPEs. The reactive visitation probability provides a rigorous metric to quantify the dynamical importance of a node for the productive transition between two endpoint states and thus allows the local states that facilitate the dominant transition mechanisms to be readily identified. The state-reduction procedures remain numerically stable even for Markov chains exhibiting metastability, which can be severely ill-conditioned. The rare event regime is frequently encountered in realistic models of dynamical processes, and our methodology therefore provides valuable tools for the analysis of Markov chains in practical applications. We illustrate our approach with numerical results for a kinetic network representing a structural transition in an atomic cluster.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Sharpe
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, and Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - David J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, and Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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13
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Sharpe DJ, Wales DJ. Graph transformation and shortest paths algorithms for finite Markov chains. Phys Rev E 2021; 103:063306. [PMID: 34271741 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.103.063306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The graph transformation (GT) algorithm robustly computes the mean first-passage time to an absorbing state in a finite Markov chain. Here we present a concise overview of the iterative and block formulations of the GT procedure and generalize the GT formalism to the case of any path property that is a sum of contributions from individual transitions. In particular, we examine the path action, which directly relates to the path probability, and analyze the first-passage path ensemble for a model Markov chain that is metastable and therefore numerically challenging. We compare the mean first-passage path action, obtained using GT, with the full path action probability distribution simulated efficiently using kinetic path sampling, and with values for the highest-probability paths determined by the recursive enumeration algorithm (REA). In Markov chains representing realistic dynamical processes, the probability distributions of first-passage path properties are typically fat-tailed and therefore difficult to converge by sampling, which motivates the use of exact and numerically stable approaches to compute the expectation. We find that the kinetic relevance of the set of highest-probability paths depends strongly on the metastability of the Markov chain, and so the properties of the dominant first-passage paths may be unrepresentative of the global dynamics. Use of a global measure for edge costs in the REA, based on net productive fluxes, allows the total reactive flux to be decomposed into a finite set of contributions from simple flux paths. By considering transition flux paths, a detailed quantitative analysis of the relative importance of competing dynamical processes is possible even in the metastable regime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Sharpe
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - David J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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14
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Kannan D, Sharpe DJ, Swinburne TD, Wales DJ. Optimal dimensionality reduction of Markov chains using graph transformation. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:244108. [PMID: 33380101 DOI: 10.1063/5.0025174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Markov chains can accurately model the state-to-state dynamics of a wide range of complex systems, but the underlying transition matrix is ill-conditioned when the dynamics feature a separation of timescales. Graph transformation (GT) provides a numerically stable method to compute exact mean first passage times (MFPTs) between states, which are the usual dynamical observables in continuous-time Markov chains (CTMCs). Here, we generalize the GT algorithm to discrete-time Markov chains (DTMCs), which are commonly estimated from simulation data, for example, in the Markov state model approach. We then consider the dimensionality reduction of CTMCs and DTMCs, which aids model interpretation and facilitates more expensive computations, including sampling of pathways. We perform a detailed numerical analysis of existing methods to compute the optimal reduced CTMC, given a partitioning of the network into metastable communities (macrostates) of nodes (microstates). We show that approaches based on linear algebra encounter numerical problems that arise from the requisite metastability. We propose an alternative approach using GT to compute the matrix of intermicrostate MFPTs in the original Markov chain, from which a matrix of weighted intermacrostate MFPTs can be obtained. We also propose an approximation to the weighted-MFPT matrix in the strongly metastable limit. Inversion of the weighted-MFPT matrix, which is better conditioned than the matrices that must be inverted in alternative dimensionality reduction schemes, then yields the optimal reduced Markov chain. The superior numerical stability of the GT approach therefore enables us to realize optimal Markovian coarse-graining of systems with rare event dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepti Kannan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel J Sharpe
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas D Swinburne
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CINaM UMR 7325, Campus de Luminy, 13288 Marseille, France
| | - David J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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15
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Juárez-Mercado KE, Prieto-Martínez FD, Sánchez-Cruz N, Peña-Castillo A, Prada-Gracia D, Medina-Franco JL. Expanding the Structural Diversity of DNA Methyltransferase Inhibitors. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2020; 14:ph14010017. [PMID: 33375520 PMCID: PMC7824300 DOI: 10.3390/ph14010017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Inhibitors of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) are attractive compounds for epigenetic drug discovery. They are also chemical tools to understand the biochemistry of epigenetic processes. Herein, we report five distinct inhibitors of DNMT1 characterized in enzymatic inhibition assays that did not show activity with DNMT3B. It was concluded that the dietary component theaflavin is an inhibitor of DNMT1. Two additional novel inhibitors of DNMT1 are the approved drugs glyburide and panobinostat. The DNMT1 enzymatic inhibitory activity of panobinostat, a known pan inhibitor of histone deacetylases, agrees with experimental reports of its ability to reduce DNMT1 activity in liver cancer cell lines. Molecular docking of the active compounds with DNMT1, and re-scoring with the recently developed extended connectivity interaction features approach, led to an excellent agreement between the experimental IC50 values and docking scores.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. Eurídice Juárez-Mercado
- DIFACQUIM Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Chemistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Avenida Universidad 3000, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; (K.E.J.-M.); (F.D.P.-M.); (N.S.-C.); (A.P.-C.)
| | - Fernando D. Prieto-Martínez
- DIFACQUIM Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Chemistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Avenida Universidad 3000, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; (K.E.J.-M.); (F.D.P.-M.); (N.S.-C.); (A.P.-C.)
| | - Norberto Sánchez-Cruz
- DIFACQUIM Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Chemistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Avenida Universidad 3000, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; (K.E.J.-M.); (F.D.P.-M.); (N.S.-C.); (A.P.-C.)
| | - Andrea Peña-Castillo
- DIFACQUIM Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Chemistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Avenida Universidad 3000, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; (K.E.J.-M.); (F.D.P.-M.); (N.S.-C.); (A.P.-C.)
| | - Diego Prada-Gracia
- Research Unit on Computational Biology and Drug Design, Children’s Hospital of Mexico Federico Gomez, Mexico City 06720, Mexico;
| | - José L. Medina-Franco
- DIFACQUIM Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Chemistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Avenida Universidad 3000, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; (K.E.J.-M.); (F.D.P.-M.); (N.S.-C.); (A.P.-C.)
- Correspondence:
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16
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Takahashi S, Tateishi T, Sasaki Y, Sato H, Hiraoka S. Towards kinetic control of coordination self-assembly: a case study of a Pd 3L 6 double-walled triangle to predict the outcomes by a reaction network model. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:26614-26626. [PMID: 33201952 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp04623j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Numerical analysis of self-assembly process (NASAP) was performed for a [Pd3L6]6+ double-walled triangle (DWT) complex. With a chemical reaction network and a parameter set of the reaction rate constants obtained from a numerical search in an eighteen-dimensional parameter space to obtain a good fit to the data from the experimental counterpart (quantitative analysis of self-assembly process, QASAP), a refined calculation resulted in a detailed time evolution of each molecular species. Analysis based on those clues revealed dominant self-assembly pathways and a balance between inter- and intramolecular reactions, and enabled prediction of the reaction outcomes depending on the initial stoichiometric ratio under kinetic control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoshi Takahashi
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan.
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17
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Swinburne TD, Kannan D, Sharpe DJ, Wales DJ. Rare events and first passage time statistics from the energy landscape. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:134115. [PMID: 33032418 DOI: 10.1063/5.0016244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
We analyze the probability distribution of rare first passage times corresponding to transitions between product and reactant states in a kinetic transition network. The mean first passage times and the corresponding rate constants are analyzed in detail for two model landscapes and the double funnel landscape corresponding to an atomic cluster. Evaluation schemes based on eigendecomposition and kinetic path sampling, which both allow access to the first passage time distribution, are benchmarked against mean first passage times calculated using graph transformation. Numerical precision issues severely limit the useful temperature range for eigendecomposition, but kinetic path sampling is capable of extending the first passage time analysis to lower temperatures, where the kinetics of interest constitute rare events. We then investigate the influence of free energy based state regrouping schemes for the underlying network. Alternative formulations of the effective transition rates for a given regrouping are compared in detail to determine their numerical stability and capability to reproduce the true kinetics, including recent coarse-graining approaches that preserve occupancy cross correlation functions. We find that appropriate regrouping of states under the simplest local equilibrium approximation can provide reduced transition networks with useful accuracy at somewhat lower temperatures. Finally, a method is provided to systematically interpolate between the local equilibrium approximation and exact intergroup dynamics. Spectral analysis is applied to each grouping of states, employing a moment-based mode selection criterion to produce a reduced state space, which does not require any spectral gap to exist, but reduces to gap-based coarse graining as a special case. Implementations of the developed methods are freely available online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas D Swinburne
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CINaM UMR 7325, Campus de Luminy, 13288 Marseille, France
| | - Deepti Kannan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel J Sharpe
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - David J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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Burke DF, Mantell RG, Pitt CE, Wales DJ. Energy Landscape for the Membrane Fusion Pathway in Influenza A Hemagglutinin From Discrete Path Sampling. Front Chem 2020; 8:575195. [PMID: 33102445 PMCID: PMC7546250 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2020.575195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The conformational change associated with membrane fusion for Influenza A Hemagglutinin is investigated with a model based upon pre- and post-fusion structures of the HA2 component. We employ computational methods based on the potential energy landscape framework to obtain an initial path connecting these two end points, which provides the starting point for refinement of a kinetic transition network. Here we employ discrete path sampling, which provides access to the experimental time and length scales via geometry optimization techniques to identify local minima and the transition states that connect them. We then analyse the distinct phases of the predicted pathway in terms of structure and energetics, and compare with available experimental data and previous simulations. Our results provide the foundations for future work, which will address the effect of mutations, changes in pH, and incorporation of additional components, especially the HA1 chain and the fusion peptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- David F. Burke
- EMBL-EBI, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
- David F. Burke
| | | | - Catherine E. Pitt
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - David J. Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: David J. Wales
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Röder K, Wales DJ. Improving double-ended transition state searches for soft-matter systems. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:034104. [PMID: 32716181 DOI: 10.1063/5.0011829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Transitions between different stable configurations of biomolecules are important in understanding disease mechanisms, structure-function relations, and novel molecular-scale engineering. The corresponding pathways can be characterized efficiently using geometry optimization schemes based on double-ended transition state searches. An interpolation is first constructed between the known states and then refined, yielding a band that contains transition state candidates. Here, we analyze an example where various interpolation schemes lead to bands with a single step transition, but the correct pathway actually proceeds via an intervening, low-energy minimum. We compare a number of different interpolation schemes for this problem. We systematically alter the number of discrete images in the interpolations and the spring constants used in the optimization and test two schemes for adjusting the spring constants and image distribution, resulting in a total of 2760 different connection attempts. Our results confirm that optimized bands are not necessarily a good description of the transition pathways in themselves, and further refinement to actually converge transition states and establish their connectivity is required. We see an improvement in the optimized bands if we employ the adjustment of spring constants with doubly-nudged elastic band and a smaller improvement from the image redistribution. The example we consider is representative of numerous cases we have encountered in a wide variety of molecular and condensed matter systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Röder
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - D J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Sharpe DJ, Wales DJ. Efficient and exact sampling of transition path ensembles on Markovian networks. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:024121. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0012128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J. Sharpe
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - David J. Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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