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Vasiliu T, Mocci F, Laaksonen A, Engelbrecht LDV, Perepelytsya S. Caging Polycations: Effect of Increasing Confinement on the Modes of Interaction of Spermidine3+ With DNA Double Helices. Front Chem 2022; 10:836994. [PMID: 35281557 PMCID: PMC8915389 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.836994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Polyamines have important roles in the modulation of the cellular function and are ubiquitous in cells. The polyamines putrescine2+, spermidine3+, and spermine4+ represent the most abundant organic counterions of the negatively charged DNA in the cellular nucleus. These polyamines are known to stabilize the DNA structure and, depending on their concentration and additional salt composition, to induce DNA aggregation, which is often referred to as condensation. However, the modes of interactions of these elongated polycations with DNA and how they promote condensation are still not clear. In the present work, atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations of two DNA fragments surrounded by spermidine3+ (Spd3+) cations were performed to study the structuring of Spd3+ “caged” between DNA molecules. Microsecond time scale simulations, in which the parallel DNA fragments were constrained at three different separations, but allowed to rotate axially and move naturally, provided information on the conformations and relative orientations of surrounding Spm3+ cations as a function of DNA-DNA separation. Novel geometric criteria allowed for the classification of DNA-Spd3+ interaction modes, with special attention given to Spd3+ conformational changes in the space between the two DNA molecules (caged Spd3+). This work shows how changes in the accessible space, or confinement, around DNA affect DNA-Spd3+ interactions, information fundamental to understanding the interactions between DNA and its counterions in environments where DNA is compacted, e.g. in the cellular nucleus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tudor Vasiliu
- Centre of Advanced Research in Bionanoconjugates and Biopolymers “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Iasi, Romania
| | - Francesca Mocci
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Cagliari University, Cagliari, Italy
- *Correspondence: Francesca Mocci, ; Aatto Laaksonen, ; Sergiy Perepelytsya,
| | - Aatto Laaksonen
- Centre of Advanced Research in Bionanoconjugates and Biopolymers “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Iasi, Romania
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Cagliari University, Cagliari, Italy
- Division of Energy Science, Energy Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden
- Division of Physical Chemistry, Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China
- *Correspondence: Francesca Mocci, ; Aatto Laaksonen, ; Sergiy Perepelytsya,
| | | | - Sergiy Perepelytsya
- Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics of the NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
- *Correspondence: Francesca Mocci, ; Aatto Laaksonen, ; Sergiy Perepelytsya,
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Mulliri S, Laaksonen A, Spanu P, Farris R, Farci M, Mingoia F, Roviello GN, Mocci F. Spectroscopic and In Silico Studies on the Interaction of Substituted Pyrazolo[1,2-a]benzo[1,2,3,4]tetrazine-3-one Derivatives with c-Myc G4-DNA. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:6028. [PMID: 34199659 PMCID: PMC8199725 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22116028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 05/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Herein we describe a combined experimental and in silico study of the interaction of a series of pyrazolo[1,2-a]benzo[1,2,3,4]tetrazin-3-one derivatives (PBTs) with parallel G-quadruplex (GQ) DNA aimed at correlating their previously reported anticancer activities and the stabilizing effects observed by us on c-myc oncogene promoter GQ structure. Circular dichroism (CD) melting experiments were performed to characterize the effect of the studied PBTs on the GQ thermal stability. CD measurements indicate that two out of the eight compounds under investigation induced a slight stabilizing effect (2-4 °C) on GQ depending on the nature and position of the substituents. Molecular docking results allowed us to verify the modes of interaction of the ligands with the GQ and estimate the binding affinities. The highest binding affinity was observed for ligands with the experimental melting temperatures (Tms). However, both stabilizing and destabilizing ligands showed similar scores, whilst Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, performed across a wide range of temperatures on the GQ in water solution, either unliganded or complexed with two model PBT ligands with the opposite effect on the Tms, consistently confirmed their stabilizing or destabilizing ability ascertained by CD. Clues about a relation between the reported anticancer activity of some PBTs and their ability to stabilize the GQ structure of c-myc emerged from our study. Furthermore, Molecular Dynamics simulations at high temperatures are herein proposed for the first time as a means to verify the stabilizing or destabilizing effect of ligands on the GQ, also disclosing predictive potential in GQ-targeting drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Mulliri
- Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy; (S.M.); (R.F.); (M.F.)
| | - Aatto Laaksonen
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, China
- Division of Physical Chemistry, Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
- Centre of Advanced Research in Bionanoconjugates and Biopolymers, Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, 700487 Iasi, Romania
- Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, Division of Energy Science, Luleå University of Technology, SE-97187 Luleå, Sweden
| | - Pietro Spanu
- Istituto di Chimica Biomolecolare, ICB-CNR-Trav. La Crucca 3, 07100 Sassari, Italy;
| | - Riccardo Farris
- Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy; (S.M.); (R.F.); (M.F.)
| | - Matteo Farci
- Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy; (S.M.); (R.F.); (M.F.)
| | - Francesco Mingoia
- Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati ISMN-CNR, Via U. La Malfa 153, I-90146 Palermo, Italy;
| | - Giovanni N. Roviello
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini, IBB-CNR, Via Mezzocannone 16, I-80134 Naples, Italy
| | - Francesca Mocci
- Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy; (S.M.); (R.F.); (M.F.)
- Centre of Advanced Research in Bionanoconjugates and Biopolymers, Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, 700487 Iasi, Romania
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Perepelytsya S, Uličný J, Laaksonen A, Mocci F. Pattern preferences of DNA nucleotide motifs by polyamines putrescine2+, spermidine3+ and spermine4. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 47:6084-6097. [PMID: 31114917 PMCID: PMC6614828 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The interactions of natural polyamines (putrescine2+, spermidine3+ and spermine4+) with DNA double helix are studied to characterize their nucleotide sequence pattern preference. Atomistic Molecular Dynamics simulations have been carried out for three systems consisting of the same DNA fragment d(CGCGAATTCGCGAATTCGCG) with different polyamines. The results show that polyamine molecules are localized with well-recognized patterns along the double helix with different residence times. We observed a clear hierarchy in the residence times of the polyamines, with the longest residence time (ca 100ns) in the minor groove. The analysis of the sequence dependence shows that polyamine molecules prefer the A-tract regions of the minor groove - in its narrowest part. The preferable localization of putrescine2+, spermidine3+ and spermine4+ in the minor groove with A-tract motifs is correlated with modulation of the groove width by a specific nucleotide sequences. We did develop a theoretical model pointing to the electrostatic interactions as the main driving force in this phenomenon, making it even more prominent for polyamines with higher charges. The results of the study explain the specificity of polyamine interactions with A-tract region of the DNA double helix which is also observed in experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergiy Perepelytsya
- Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine.,Department of Theoretical and Mathematical Physics, Kyiv Academic University, 03142 Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Jozef Uličný
- Department of Biophysics, Institute of Physics, P. J. Šafárik University, 041 54 Košice, Slovakia
| | - Aatto Laaksonen
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, 210009 Nanjing, China.,Division of Physical Chemistry, Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.,Centre of Advanced Research in Bionanoconjugates and Biopolymers, Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Iasi, 700487, Romania
| | - Francesca Mocci
- Centre of Advanced Research in Bionanoconjugates and Biopolymers, Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Iasi, 700487, Romania.,Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy
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Atzori A, Liggi S, Laaksonen A, Porcu M, Lyubartsev AP, Saba G, Mocci F. Base sequence specificity of counterion binding to DNA: what can MD simulations tell us? CAN J CHEM 2016. [DOI: 10.1139/cjc-2016-0296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Nucleic acids are highly charged biopolymers whose secondary structure is strongly dependent on electrostatic interactions. Solvent molecules and ions are also believed to play an important role in mediating and directing both sequence recognition and interactions with other molecules, such as proteins and a variety of ligands. Therefore, to fully understand the biological functions of DNA, it is necessary to understand the interactions with the surrounding counterions. It is well known that monovalent counterions can bind to the minor groove of DNA with consecutive sequences of four, or more, adenine and thymine (A-tracts) with relatively long residence times. However, much less is known about their binding to the backbone and to the major groove. In this work, we used molecular dynamics simulations to both investigate the interactions between the backbone and major groove of DNA and one of its physiological counterions (Na+) and evaluate the relationship between these interactions and the nucleotide sequence. Three dodecamers, namely CGAAAATTTTCG, CGCTCTAGAGCG, and CGCGAATTCGCG, were simulated using the Toukan–Rahman flexible SPC water model and Smith and Dang parameters for Na+, revealing a significant sequence dependence on the ion binding to both backbone and major groove. In the absence of experimental data on the atomistic details of the studied interactions, the reliability of the results was evaluated performing the simulations with additional sets of potential parameters for ions and solvent, namely the Ȧqvist or the Joung and Cheatham ion parameters and the TIP3P water model. This allowed us to evaluate the results by verifying which features are preserved independently from the parameters adopted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessio Atzori
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, I-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Sonia Liggi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, I-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Aatto Laaksonen
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, I-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
- Division of Physical Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
- Science for Life Laboratory, 171 21 Solna, Sweden
| | - Massimiliano Porcu
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, I-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
- Division of Physical Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alexander P. Lyubartsev
- Division of Physical Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Giuseppe Saba
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, I-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Francesca Mocci
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, I-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
- Division of Physical Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
- Science for Life Laboratory, 171 21 Solna, Sweden
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Sun C, Wang X, Wang Z. Effects of instrumental artifacts on triple quantum filtered NMR spectra for spin I=3/2. JOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE (SAN DIEGO, CALIF. : 1997) 2016; 268:10-17. [PMID: 27149654 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmr.2016.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2016] [Revised: 04/02/2016] [Accepted: 04/25/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In this work, the effects of various instrumental artifacts on the triple quantum filtered NMR spectra for spin I=3/2 nuclei are investigated. The studied artifacts include finite pulse widths, phase errors, radio frequency field inhomogeneity and pulse transients, which are commonly encountered in practice. The triple quantum filtered spectra are numerically simulated, based on the evolution of the spin density operator under the Hamiltonian for the artifacts. The results show that the presence of the artifacts introduces a shape distortion in the spectrum as well as a variation in the peak intensity, compared with the spectrum without any artifacts. This work indicates that the existence of the instrumental artifacts may cause a misunderstanding of the triple quantum filtered NMR spectra in experiments. The results suggest that one be aware of the instrumental artifacts when performing the triple quantum filtered NMR experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Sun
- College of Physical Science and Technology, Dalian University, China.
| | - Xuefeng Wang
- College of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Dalian University, China
| | - Zhixiao Wang
- College of Physical Science and Technology, Dalian University, China
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Abstract
Metal ions are essential cofactors for the structure and functions of nucleic acids. Yet, the early discovery in the 70s of the crucial role of Mg(2+) in stabilizing tRNA structures has occulted for a long time the importance of monovalent cations. Renewed interest in these ions was brought in the late 90s by the discovery of specific potassium metal ions in the core of a group I intron. Their importance in nucleic acid folding and catalytic activity is now well established. However, detection of K(+) and Na(+) ions is notoriously problematic and the question about their specificity is recurrent. Here we review the different methods that can be used to detect K(+) and Na(+) ions in nucleic acid structures such as X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance or molecular dynamics simulations. We also discuss specific versus non-specific binding to different structures through various examples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Auffinger
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Université de Strasbourg, IBMC, CNRS, 15 rue René Descartes, F-67084, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Luigi D'Ascenzo
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Université de Strasbourg, IBMC, CNRS, 15 rue René Descartes, F-67084, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Eric Ennifar
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Université de Strasbourg, IBMC, CNRS, 15 rue René Descartes, F-67084, Strasbourg, France.
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Aidas K, Ågren H, Kongsted J, Laaksonen A, Mocci F. A quantum mechanics/molecular dynamics study of electric field gradient fluctuations in the liquid phase. The case of Na+in aqueous solution. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2013; 15:1621-31. [DOI: 10.1039/c2cp41993a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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8
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Allnér O, Nilsson L, Villa A. Magnesium Ion-Water Coordination and Exchange in Biomolecular Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2012; 8:1493-502. [PMID: 26596759 DOI: 10.1021/ct3000734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 282] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Magnesium ions have an important role in the structure and folding mechanism of ribonucleic acid systems. To properly simulate these biophysical processes, the applied molecular models should reproduce, among other things, the kinetic properties of the ions in water solution. Here, we have studied the kinetics of the binding of magnesium ions with water molecules and nucleic acid systems using molecular dynamics simulation in detail. We have validated the parameters used in biomolecular force fields, such as AMBER and CHARMM, for Mg(2+) ions and also for the biologically relevant ions Na(+), K(+), and Ca(2+) together with three different water models (TIP3P, SPC/E, and TIP5P). The results show that Mg(2+) ions have a slower exchange rate than Na(+), K(+), and Ca(2+) in agreement with the experimental trend, but the simulated value underestimates the experimentally observed Mg(2+)-water exchange rate by several orders of magnitude, irrespective of the force field and water model. A new set of parameters for Mg(2+) was developed to reproduce the experimental kinetic data. This set also leads to better reproduction of structural data than existing models. We have applied the new parameter set to Mg(2+) binding with a monophosphate model system and with the purine riboswitch, add A-riboswitch. In line with the Mg(2+)-water results, the newly developed parameters show a better description of the structure and kinetics of the Mg(2+)-phosphate binding than all other models. The characterization of the ion binding to the riboswitch system shows that the new parameter set does not affect the global structure of the ribonucleic acid system or the number of ions involved in direct or indirect binding. A slight decrease in the number of water-bridged contacts between A-riboswitch and the Mg(2+) ion is observed. The results support the ability of the newly developed parameters to improve the kinetic description of the Mg(2+) and phosphate ions and their applicability in nucleic acid simulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olof Allnér
- Karolinska Institutet, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Center for Biosciences, SE-141 83 HUDDINGE, Sweden
| | - Lennart Nilsson
- Karolinska Institutet, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Center for Biosciences, SE-141 83 HUDDINGE, Sweden
| | - Alessandra Villa
- Karolinska Institutet, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Center for Biosciences, SE-141 83 HUDDINGE, Sweden
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Lindgren M, Laaksonen A, Westlund PO. A theoretical spin relaxation and molecular dynamics simulation study of the Gd(H2O)93+ complex. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2009; 11:10368-76. [DOI: 10.1039/b907099k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Dong F, Wagoner JA, Baker NA. Assessing the performance of implicit solvation models at a nucleic acid surface. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2008; 10:4889-902. [PMID: 18688533 PMCID: PMC2538626 DOI: 10.1039/b807384h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Implicit solvation models are popular alternatives to explicit solvent methods due to their ability to "pre-average" solvent behavior and thus reduce the need for computationally-expensive sampling. Previously, we have demonstrated that Poisson-Boltzmann models for polar solvation and integral-based models for nonpolar solvation can reproduce explicit solvation forces in a low-charge density protein system. In the present work, we examine the ability of these continuum models to describe solvation forces at the surface of a RNA hairpin. While these models do not completely describe all of the details of solvent behavior at this highly-charged biomolecular interface, they do provide a reasonable description of average solvation forces and therefore show significant promise for developing more robust implicit descriptions of solvent around nucleic acid systems for use in biomolecular simulation and modeling. Additionally, we observe fairly good transferability in the nonpolar model parameters optimized for protein systems, suggesting its robustness for modeling general nonpolar solvation phenomena in biomolecular systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Dong
- Merck & Co., Inc., 770 Sumneytown Pike, P.O. Box 4, WP42-330, West Point, PA 19486, USA. E-mail:
| | - Jason A. Wagoner
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, 333 Campus Drive #121, Mailbox 13, Stanford, CA 94305-5080, USA. E-mail:
| | - Nathan A. Baker
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Center for Computational Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, 700. S. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. E-mail:
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Zhang Y, Huang K. The influence of the hydrated metal cations binding to adenine-N7 or adenine-N3 on the hydrogen bonding in adenine–thymine base pair: A comparative study. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007. [DOI: 10.1016/j.theochem.2007.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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