1
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Wesołowski P, Wales DJ, Pracht P. Multilevel Framework for Analysis of Protein Folding Involving Disulfide Bond Formation. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:3145-3156. [PMID: 38512062 PMCID: PMC11000224 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c00104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
In this study, a three-layered multicenter ONIOM approach is implemented to characterize the naive folding pathway of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI). Each layer represents a distinct level of theory, where the initial layer, encompassing the entire protein, is modeled by a general all-atom force-field GFN-FF. An intermediate electronic structure layer consisting of three multicenter fragments is introduced with the state-of-the-art semiempirical tight-binding method GFN2-xTB. Higher accuracy, specifically addressing the breaking and formation of the three disulfide bonds, is achieved at the innermost layer using the composite DFT method r2SCAN-3c. Our analysis sheds light on the structural stability of BPTI, particularly the significance of interlinking disulfide bonds. The accuracy and efficiency of the multicenter QM/SQM/MM approach are benchmarked using the oxidative formation of cystine. For the folding pathway of BPTI, relative stabilities are investigated through the calculation of free energy contributions for selected intermediates, focusing on the impact of the disulfide bond. Our results highlight the intricate trade-off between accuracy and computational cost, demonstrating that the multicenter ONIOM approach provides a well-balanced and comprehensive solution to describe electronic structure effects in biomolecular systems. We conclude that multiscale energy landscape exploration provides a robust methodology for the study of intriguing biological targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patryk
A. Wesołowski
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K.
| | - David J. Wales
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K.
| | - Philipp Pracht
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K.
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2
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Meadows J, Röder K. The Effect of Pulling and Twisting Forces on Chameleon Sequence Peptides. Chemphyschem 2023; 24:e202300351. [PMID: 37818741 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202300351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Chameleon sequences are amino acid sequences found in several distinct configurations in experiment. They challenge our understanding of the link between sequence and structure, and provide insight into structural competition in proteins. Here, we study the energy landscapes for three such sequences, and interrogate how pulling and twisting forces impact the available structural ensembles. Chameleon sequences do not necessarily exhibit multiple structural ensembles on a multifunnel energy landscape when we consider them in isolation. The application of even small forces leads to drastic changes in the energy landscapes. For pulling forces, we observe transitions from helical to extended structures in a very small span of forces. For twisting forces, the picture is much more complex, and highly dependent on the magnitude and handedness of the applied force as well as the reference angle for the twist. Depending on these parameters, more complex and more simplistic energy landscapes are observed alongside more and less diverse structural ensembles. The impact of even small forces is significant, confirming their likely role in folding events. In addition, small forces exerted by the remaining scaffold of a protein may be sufficient to lead to the adoption of a specific structural ensemble by a chameleon sequence.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Meadows
- Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Stockton Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
- Previous affiliation: Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Konstantin Röder
- Randall Centre for Cell & Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, Guy's Campus, Great Maze Pond, London, SE1 1UL, UK
- Previous affiliation: Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
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3
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Smith NB, Jowett T, Yu D, Pahl E, Garden AL. Comparison of Taboo Search Methods for Atomic Cluster Global Optimization with a Basin-Hopping Algorithm. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:5784-5793. [PMID: 37665618 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
The basin-hopping algorithm (BHA) allows for the efficient exploration of atomic cluster potential energy surfaces by random perturbations in configuration space, followed by energy minimizations. Here, the taboo search method is incorporated to prevent the search from revisiting recently visited regions of the search space. Two taboo search modes are implemented, one mode resets the search to random coordinates upon encountering the taboo region, while the other simply rejects any proposed move into the taboo region. These two modes are tested and compared on a variety of potential energy surfaces─several clusters where atomic interactions are described by the Lennard-Jones potential, and Au55 where a semi-empirical tight binding potential is used to describe atomic interactions. Some differences in performance between the two taboo search modes were noted for LJ38 and Au55, with the mode that rejects all hops into the taboo region performing better, offering a means to improve the efficiency of the BHA for multifunnel systems. However, both taboo search modes failed to significantly improve performance on multifunnel systems where more than two funnels were present in the system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas B Smith
- Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
- MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - Tim Jowett
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | - Diana Yu
- MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
- Department of Physics, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Elke Pahl
- MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
- Department of Physics, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Anna L Garden
- Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
- MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
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4
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Nicy, Collepardo-Guevara R, Joseph JA, Wales DJ. Energy landscapes and heat capacity signatures for peptides correlate with phase separation propensity. QRB DISCOVERY 2023; 4:e7. [PMID: 37771761 PMCID: PMC10523320 DOI: 10.1017/qrd.2023.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Phase separation plays an important role in the formation of membraneless compartments within the cell and intrinsically disordered proteins with low-complexity sequences can drive this compartmentalisation. Various intermolecular forces, such as aromatic-aromatic and cation-aromatic interactions, promote phase separation. However, little is known about how the ability of proteins to phase separate under physiological conditions is encoded in their energy landscapes and this is the focus of the present investigation. Our results provide a first glimpse into how the energy landscapes of minimal peptides that contain - and cation- interactions differ from the peptides that lack amino acids with such interactions. The peaks in the heat capacity () as a function of temperature report on alternative low-lying conformations that differ significantly in terms of their enthalpic and entropic contributions. The analysis and subsequent quantification of frustration of the energy landscape suggest that the interactions that promote phase separation lead to features (peaks or inflection points) at low temperatures in . More features may occur for peptides containing residues with better phase separation propensity and the energy landscape is more frustrated for such peptides. Overall, this work links the features in the underlying single-molecule potential energy landscapes to their collective phase separation behaviour and identifies quantities ( and frustration metric) that can be utilised in soft material design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicy
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Rosana Collepardo-Guevara
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jerelle A. Joseph
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - David J. Wales
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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5
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Avis SJ, Panter JR, Kusumaatmaja H. A robust and memory-efficient transition state search method for complex energy landscapes. J Chem Phys 2022; 157:124107. [PMID: 36182442 DOI: 10.1063/5.0102145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Locating transition states is crucial for investigating transition mechanisms in wide-ranging phenomena, from atomistic to macroscale systems. Existing methods, however, can struggle in problems with a large number of degrees of freedom, on-the-fly adaptive remeshing and coarse-graining, and energy landscapes that are locally flat or discontinuous. To resolve these challenges, we introduce a new double-ended method, the Binary-Image Transition State Search (BITSS). It uses just two states that converge to the transition state, resulting in a fast, flexible, and memory-efficient method. We also show that it is more robust compared to existing bracketing methods that use only two states. We demonstrate its versatility by applying BITSS to three very different classes of problems: Lennard-Jones clusters, shell buckling, and multiphase phase-field models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J Avis
- Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
| | - Jack R Panter
- Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
| | - Halim Kusumaatmaja
- Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
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6
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Abbott JW, Hanke F. Kinetically Corrected Monte Carlo-Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Solid Electrolyte Interphase Growth. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:925-934. [PMID: 35007421 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We present a kinetic approach to the Monte Carlo-molecular dynamics (MC-MD) method for simulating reactive liquids using nonreactive force fields. A graphical reaction representation allows definition of reactions of arbitrary complexity, including their local solvation environment. Reaction probabilities and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation times are derived from ab initio calculations. Detailed validation is followed by studying the development of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) in lithium-ion batteries. We reproduce the experimentally observed two-layered structure on graphite, with an inorganic layer close to the anode and an outer organic layer. This structure develops via a near-shore aggregation mechanism.
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7
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RNA Modeling with the Computational Energy Landscape Framework. METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (CLIFTON, N.J.) 2021; 2323:49-66. [PMID: 34086273 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1499-0_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The recent advances in computational abilities, such as the enormous speed-ups provided by GPU computing, allow for large scale computational studies of RNA molecules at an atomic level of detail. As RNA molecules are known to adopt multiple conformations with comparable energies, but different two-dimensional structures, all-atom models are necessary to better describe the structural ensembles for RNA molecules. This point is important because different conformations can exhibit different functions, and their regulation or mis-regulation is linked to a number of diseases. Problematically, the energy barriers between different conformational ensembles are high, resulting in long time scales for interensemble transitions. The computational potential energy landscape framework was designed to overcome this problem of broken ergodicity by use of geometry optimization. Here, we describe the algorithms used in the energy landscape explorations with the OPTIM and PATHSAMPLE programs, and how they are used in biomolecular simulations. We present a recent case study of the 5'-hairpin of RNA 7SK to illustrate how the method can be applied to interpret experimental results, and to obtain a detailed description of molecular properties.
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8
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Röder K. Is the H4 histone tail intrinsically disordered or intrinsically multifunctional? Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:5134-5142. [PMID: 33624669 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp05405d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The structural versatility of histone tails is one of the key elements in the organisation of chromatin, which allows for the compact storage of genomic information. However, this structural diversity also complicates experimental and computational studies. Here, the potential and free energy landscape for the isolated and bound H4 histone tail are explored. The landscapes exhibit a set of distinct structural ensembles separated by high energy barriers, with little difference between isolated and bound tails. This consistency is a desirable feature that facilitates the formation of transient interactions, which are required for the liquid-like chromatin organisation. The existence of multiple, distinct structures on a multifunnel energy landscape is likely to be associated with multifunctionality, i.e. a set of evolved, distinct functions. Contrasting it with previously reported results for other disordered peptides, this type of landscape may be associated with a conformational selection based binding mechanism. Given the similarity to other systems exhibiting similar multifunnel energy landscapes, the disorder in histone tails might be better described in context of multifunctionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Röder
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK.
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9
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Moerman E, Furman D, Wales DJ. Development of ReaxFF Reactive Force Field for Aqueous Iron-Sulfur Clusters with Applications to Stability and Reactivity in Water. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:1204-1214. [PMID: 33617718 PMCID: PMC8028049 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c01292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Iron-sulfur clusters serve unique roles in biochemistry, geochemistry, and renewable energy technologies. However, a full theoretical understanding of their structures and properties is still lacking. To facilitate large-scale reactive molecular dynamics simulations of iron-sulfur clusters in aqueous environments, a ReaxFF reactive force field is developed, based on an extensive set of quantum chemical calculations. This force field compares favorably with the reference calculations on gas-phase species and significantly improves on a previous ReaxFF parametrization. We employ the new potential to study the stability and reactivity of iron-sulfur clusters in explicit water with constant-temperature reactive molecular dynamics. The aqueous species exhibit a dynamic, temperature-dependent behavior, in good agreement with previous much more costly ab initio simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evgeny Moerman
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road,Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - David Furman
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road,Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.,Division of Chemistry, NRCN, P.O. Box 9001, Beer-Sheva 84190, Israel
| | - David J Wales
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road,Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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10
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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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11
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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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12
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Chakraborty D, Chebaro Y, Wales DJ. A multifunnel energy landscape encodes the competing α-helix and β-hairpin conformations for a designed peptide. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:1359-1370. [PMID: 31854397 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp04778f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Depending on the amino acid sequence, as well as the local environment, some peptides have the capability to fold into multiple secondary structures. Conformational switching between such structures is a key element of protein folding and aggregation. Specifically, understanding the molecular mechanism underlying the transition from an α-helix to a β-hairpin is critical because it is thought to be a harbinger of amyloid assembly. In this study, we explore the energy landscape for an 18-residue peptide (DP5), designed by Araki and Tamura to exhibit equal propensities for the α-helical and β-hairpin forms. We find that the degeneracy is encoded in the multifunnel nature of the underlying free energy landscape. In agreement with experiment, we also observe that mutation of tyrosine at position 12 to serine shifts the equilibrium in favor of the α-helix conformation, by altering the landscape topography. The transition from the α-helix to the β-hairpin is a complex stepwise process, and occurs via collapsed coil-like intermediates. Our findings suggest that even a single mutation can tune the emergent features of the landscape, providing an efficient route to protein design. Interestingly, the transition pathways for the conformational switch seem to be minimally perturbed upon mutation, suggesting that there could be universal microscopic features that are conserved among different switch-competent protein sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debayan Chakraborty
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW, UK.
| | - Yassmine Chebaro
- Department of Integrative Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), CNRS UMR 7104, INSERM U964, Université de Strasbourg, 67404 Illkirch, France
| | - David J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW, UK.
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13
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Joseph JA, Chakraborty D, Wales DJ. Energy Landscape for Fold-Switching in Regulatory Protein RfaH. J Chem Theory Comput 2018; 15:731-742. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.8b00912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jerelle A. Joseph
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Debayan Chakraborty
- Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - 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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Neelamraju S, Gosavi S, Wales DJ. Energy Landscape of the Designed Protein Top7. J Phys Chem B 2018; 122:12282-12291. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b08499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sridhar Neelamraju
- Simons Centre for the Study of Living Machines, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, Karnataka 560065, India
- University Chemical Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Shachi Gosavi
- Simons Centre for the Study of Living Machines, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, Karnataka 560065, India
| | - David J. Wales
- University Chemical Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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15
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Niblett SP, de Souza VK, Jack RL, Wales DJ. Effects of random pinning on the potential energy landscape of a supercooled liquid. J Chem Phys 2018; 149:114503. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5042140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- S. P. Niblett
- University Chemical Laboratories, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - V. K. de Souza
- University Chemical Laboratories, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - R. L. Jack
- University Chemical Laboratories, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom
| | - D. J. Wales
- University Chemical Laboratories, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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16
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Röder K, Wales DJ. Predicting Pathways between Distant Configurations for Biomolecules. J Chem Theory Comput 2018; 14:4271-4278. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.8b00370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Röder
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K
| | - David J. Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K
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17
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Abstract
The complex conformational change from B-DNA to Z-DNA requires inversion of helix-handedness. Multiple degrees of freedom are intricately coupled during this transition, and formulating an appropriate reaction coordinate that captures the underlying complexity would be problematic. In this contribution, we adopt an alternative approach, based on the potential energy landscape perspective, to construct a kinetic transition network. Microscopic insight into the B → Z transition is provided in terms of geometrically defined discrete paths consisting of local minima and the transition states that connect them. We find that the inversion of handedness can occur via two competing mechanisms, either involving stretched intermediates, or a B-Z junction, in agreement with previous predictions. The organisation of the free energy landscape further suggests that this process is likely to be slow under physiological conditions. Our results represent a key step towards decoding the more intriguing features of the B → Z transition, such as the role of ionic strength and negative supercoiling in reshaping the landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debayan Chakraborty
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW, UK.
| | - David J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW, UK.
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18
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Griffiths M, Niblett SP, Wales DJ. Optimal Alignment of Structures for Finite and Periodic Systems. J Chem Theory Comput 2017; 13:4914-4931. [PMID: 28841314 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.7b00543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Finding the optimal alignment between two structures is important for identifying the minimum root-mean-square distance (RMSD) between them and as a starting point for calculating pathways. Most current algorithms for aligning structures are stochastic, scale exponentially with the size of structure, and the performance can be unreliable. We present two complementary methods for aligning structures corresponding to isolated clusters of atoms and to condensed matter described by a periodic cubic supercell. The first method (Go-PERMDIST), a branch and bound algorithm, locates the global minimum RMSD deterministically in polynomial time. The run time increases for larger RMSDs. The second method (FASTOVERLAP) is a heuristic algorithm that aligns structures by finding the global maximum kernel correlation between them using fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) and fast SO(3) transforms (SOFTs). For periodic systems, FASTOVERLAP scales with the square of the number of identical atoms in the system, reliably finds the best alignment between structures that are not too distant, and shows significantly better performance than existing algorithms. The expected run time for Go-PERMDIST is longer than FASTOVERLAP for periodic systems. For finite clusters, the FASTOVERLAP algorithm is competitive with existing algorithms. The expected run time for Go-PERMDIST to find the global RMSD between two structures deterministically is generally longer than for existing stochastic algorithms. However, with an earlier exit condition, Go-PERMDIST exhibits similar or better performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Griffiths
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge , Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Samuel P Niblett
- 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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19
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Röder K, Wales DJ. Transforming the Energy Landscape of a Coiled-Coil Peptide via Point Mutations. J Chem Theory Comput 2017; 13:1468-1477. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.7b00024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Röder
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, U.K
| | - David J. Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, U.K
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20
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Krautgasser K, Panosetti C, Palagin D, Reuter K, Maurer RJ. Global structure search for molecules on surfaces: Efficient sampling with curvilinear coordinates. J Chem Phys 2017; 145:084117. [PMID: 27586914 DOI: 10.1063/1.4961259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Efficient structure search is a major challenge in computational materials science. We present a modification of the basin hopping global geometry optimization approach that uses a curvilinear coordinate system to describe global trial moves. This approach has recently been shown to be efficient in structure determination of clusters [C. Panosetti et al., Nano Lett. 15, 8044-8048 (2015)] and is here extended for its application to covalent, complex molecules and large adsorbates on surfaces. The employed automatically constructed delocalized internal coordinates are similar to molecular vibrations, which enhances the generation of chemically meaningful trial structures. By introducing flexible constraints and local translation and rotation of independent geometrical subunits, we enable the use of this method for molecules adsorbed on surfaces and interfaces. For two test systems, trans-β-ionylideneacetic acid adsorbed on a Au(111) surface and methane adsorbed on a Ag(111) surface, we obtain superior performance of the method compared to standard optimization moves based on Cartesian coordinates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Krautgasser
- Department Chemie, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstr. 4, D-85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Chiara Panosetti
- Department Chemie, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstr. 4, D-85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Dennis Palagin
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
| | - Karsten Reuter
- Department Chemie, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstr. 4, D-85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Reinhard J Maurer
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
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21
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Fačkovec B, Vanden-Eijnden E, Wales DJ. Markov state modeling and dynamical coarse-graining via discrete relaxation path sampling. J Chem Phys 2016; 143:044119. [PMID: 26233119 DOI: 10.1063/1.4926940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
A method is derived to coarse-grain the dynamics of complex molecular systems to a Markov jump process (MJP) describing how the system jumps between cells that fully partition its state space. The main inputs are relaxation times for each pair of cells, which are shown to be robust with respect to positioning of the cell boundaries. These relaxation times can be calculated via molecular dynamics simulations performed in each cell separately and are used in an efficient estimator for the rate matrix of the MJP. The method is illustrated through applications to Sinai billiards and a cluster of Lennard-Jones discs.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Fačkovec
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - E Vanden-Eijnden
- Courant Institute, New York University, 251 Mercer Street, New York, New York 10012, USA
| | - D J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW Cambridge, United Kingdom
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22
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Fačkovec B, Morgan JWR, Wales DJ. Dynamical properties of two- and three-dimensional colloidal clusters of six particles. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2016; 18:12725-32. [PMID: 27098768 DOI: 10.1039/c6cp00677a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Colloidal clusters are important systems for studying self-assembly. Clusters of six colloidal particles attracting each other via short-ranged interactions have been recently studied both theoretically and experimentally. Here we present a computer modelling study of the thermodynamics and dynamics of these clusters using a short-ranged Morse potential in two and three dimensions. We combine energy landscape methods with comprehensive sampling, both of configurations using Markov chain Monte Carlo and also of trajectories using Langevin molecular dynamics propagation. We show that the interaction energies between the particles are probably greater than previously assumed. The rates predicted by transition state theory using harmonic vibrational densities of states are off by four orders of magnitude, since the effects of viscosity are not accounted for. In contrast, sampling short trajectories using an appropriate friction constant and discrete relaxation path sampling produces reasonable agreement with the experimental rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Fačkovec
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW, Cambridge, UK.
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Wang LP, McGibbon RT, Pande VS, Martinez TJ. Automated Discovery and Refinement of Reactive Molecular Dynamics Pathways. J Chem Theory Comput 2016; 12:638-49. [PMID: 26683346 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.5b00830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We describe a flexible and broadly applicable energy refinement method, "nebterpolation," for identifying and characterizing the reaction events in a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The new method is applicable to ab initio simulations with hundreds of atoms containing complex and multimolecular reaction events. A key aspect of nebterpolation is smoothing of the reactive MD trajectory in internal coordinates to initiate the search for the reaction path on the potential energy surface. We apply nebterpolation to analyze the reaction events in an ab initio nanoreactor simulation that discovers new molecules and mechanisms, including a C-C coupling pathway for glycolaldehyde synthesis. We find that the new method, which incorporates information from the MD trajectory that connects reactants with products, produces a dramatically distinct set of minimum energy paths compared to existing approaches that start from information for the reaction end points alone. The energy refinement method described here represents a key component of an emerging simulation paradigm where molecular dynamics simulations are applied to discover the possible reaction mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Todd J Martinez
- SLAC Linear Accelerator Laboratory , Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
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Panosetti C, Krautgasser K, Palagin D, Reuter K, Maurer RJ. Global Materials Structure Search with Chemically Motivated Coordinates. NANO LETTERS 2015; 15:8044-8048. [PMID: 26444084 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b03388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Identification of relevant reaction pathways in ever more complex composite materials and nanostructures poses a central challenge to computational materials discovery. Efficient global structure search, tailored to identify chemically relevant intermediates, could provide the necessary first-principles atomistic insight to enable a rational process design. In this work we modify a common feature of global geometry optimization schemes by employing automatically generated collective curvilinear coordinates. The similarity of these coordinates to molecular vibrations enhances the generation of chemically meaningful trial structures for covalently bound systems. In the application to hydrogenated Si clusters, we concomitantly observe a significantly increased efficiency in identifying low-energy structures and exploit it for an extensive sampling of potential products of silicon-cluster soft landing on Si(001) surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Panosetti
- Department Chemie, Technische Universität München , Lichtenbergstr. 4, D-85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Konstantin Krautgasser
- Department Chemie, Technische Universität München , Lichtenbergstr. 4, D-85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Dennis Palagin
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford , South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
| | - Karsten Reuter
- Department Chemie, Technische Universität München , Lichtenbergstr. 4, D-85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Reinhard J Maurer
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University , New Haven, Connecticut 06520, United States
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25
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Wales DJ. Perspective: Insight into reaction coordinates and dynamics from the potential energy landscape. J Chem Phys 2015; 142:130901. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4916307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- D. J. Wales
- University Chemical Laboratories, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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Sadeghi A, Ghasemi SA, Schaefer B, Mohr S, Lill MA, Goedecker S. Metrics for measuring distances in configuration spaces. J Chem Phys 2014; 139:184118. [PMID: 24320265 DOI: 10.1063/1.4828704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In order to characterize molecular structures we introduce configurational fingerprint vectors which are counterparts of quantities used experimentally to identify structures. The Euclidean distance between the configurational fingerprint vectors satisfies the properties of a metric and can therefore safely be used to measure dissimilarities between configurations in the high dimensional configuration space. In particular we show that these metrics are a perfect and computationally cheap replacement for the root-mean-square distance (RMSD) when one has to decide whether two noise contaminated configurations are identical or not. We introduce a Monte Carlo approach to obtain the global minimum of the RMSD between configurations, which is obtained from a global minimization over all translations, rotations, and permutations of atomic indices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Sadeghi
- Department of Physics, Universität Basel, Klingelbergstr. 82, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
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27
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Wales DJ. Surveying a complex potential energy landscape: Overcoming broken ergodicity using basin-sampling. Chem Phys Lett 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2013.07.066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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28
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Somani S, Wales DJ. Energy landscapes and global thermodynamics for alanine peptides. J Chem Phys 2013; 139:121909. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4813627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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Rühle V, Kusumaatmaja H, Chakrabarti D, Wales DJ. Exploring Energy Landscapes: Metrics, Pathways, and Normal-Mode Analysis for Rigid-Body Molecules. J Chem Theory Comput 2013; 9:4026-34. [PMID: 26592398 DOI: 10.1021/ct400403y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We present new methodology for exploring the energy landscapes of molecular systems, using angle-axis variables for the rigid-body rotational coordinates. The key ingredient is a distance measure or metric tensor, which is invariant to global translation and rotation. The metric is used to formulate a generalized nudged elastic band method for calculating pathways, and a full prescription for normal-mode analysis is described. The methodology is tested by mapping the potential energy and free energy landscape of the water octamer, described by the TIP4P potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Rühle
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge , Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Halim Kusumaatmaja
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge , Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.,Department of Physics, Durham University , South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
| | - Dwaipayan Chakrabarti
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge , Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.,School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham , Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - David J Wales
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge , Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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Oakley MT, Johnston RL, Wales DJ. Symmetrisation schemes for global optimisation of atomic clusters. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2013; 15:3965-76. [DOI: 10.1039/c3cp44332a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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