1
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Gregory KP, Wanless EJ, Webber GB, Craig VSJ, Page AJ. A first-principles alternative to empirical solvent parameters. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:20750-20759. [PMID: 38988220 DOI: 10.1039/d4cp01975j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/12/2024]
Abstract
The use of solvents is ubiquitous in chemistry. Empirical parameters, such as the Kamlet-Taft parameters and Gutmann donor/acceptor numbers, have long been used to predict and quantify the effects solvents have on chemical phenomena. Collectively however, such parameters are unsatisfactory, since each describes ultimately the same non-covalent solute-solvent and solute-solute interactions in completely disparate ways. Here we hypothesise that empirical solvent parameters are essentially proxy measures of the electrostatic terms that dominate solvent-solute interactions. On the basis of this hypothesis, we develop a new fundamental descriptor of these interactions, , and show that it is a self-consistent, probe-free, first principles alternative to established empirical solvent parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasimir P Gregory
- Discipline of Chemistry, College of Engineering, Science & Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, Australia.
- Research School of Materials Physics, Research School of Physics, Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia
- Division of Biomedical Science and Biochemistry, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
| | - Erica J Wanless
- Discipline of Chemistry, College of Engineering, Science & Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, Australia.
| | - Grant B Webber
- Discipline of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Science & Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, Australia
| | - Vincent S J Craig
- Research School of Materials Physics, Research School of Physics, Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia
| | - Alister J Page
- Discipline of Chemistry, College of Engineering, Science & Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, Australia.
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2
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Schwartz HA, Atar M, Spilles M, Fill M, Ott M, Purtscher FRS, Gallmetzer JM, Öcal B, Olthof S, Griesbeck A, Meerholz K, Hofer TS, Ruschewitz U. Polarity profiling of porous architectures: solvatochromic dye encapsulation in metal-organic frameworks. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY. C 2024; 12:8759-8776. [PMID: 38912177 PMCID: PMC11188709 DOI: 10.1039/d4tc01401d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024]
Abstract
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have gathered significant interest due to their tunable porosity leading to diverse potential applications. In this study, we investigate the incorporation of the fluorosolvatochromic dye 2-butyl-5,6-dimethoxyisoindoline-1,3-dione ([double bond, length as m-dash]Phth) into various MOF structures as a means to assess the polarity of these porous materials. As a purely inorganic compound, zeolite Y was tested for comparison. The fluorosolvatochromic behavior of Phth, which manifests as changes in its emission spectra in response to solvent polarity, provides a sensitive probe for characterizing the local environment within the MOF pores. Through systematic variation of the MOF frameworks, we demonstrate the feasibility of using (fluoro-)solvatochromic dyes as probes for assessing the polarity gradients within MOF structures. Additionally, the fluorosolvatochromic response was studied as a function of loading amount. Our findings not only offer insights into the interplay between MOF architecture and guest molecule interactions but also present a promising approach for the rational design and classification of porous materials based on their polarity properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi A Schwartz
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cologne Greinstraße 4-6 D-50939 Cologne Germany
- Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck Innrain 80-82 A-6020 Innsbruck Austria
| | - Murat Atar
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cologne Greinstraße 4-6 D-50939 Cologne Germany
| | - Matthias Spilles
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cologne Greinstraße 4-6 D-50939 Cologne Germany
| | - Michael Fill
- Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck Innrain 80-82 A-6020 Innsbruck Austria
| | - Manuel Ott
- Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck Innrain 80-82 A-6020 Innsbruck Austria
| | - Felix R S Purtscher
- Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck Innrain 80-82 A-6020 Innsbruck Austria
| | - Josef M Gallmetzer
- Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck Innrain 80-82 A-6020 Innsbruck Austria
| | - Baris Öcal
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cologne Greinstraße 4-6 D-50939 Cologne Germany
| | - Selina Olthof
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cologne Greinstraße 4-6 D-50939 Cologne Germany
| | - Axel Griesbeck
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cologne Greinstraße 4-6 D-50939 Cologne Germany
| | - Klaus Meerholz
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cologne Greinstraße 4-6 D-50939 Cologne Germany
| | - Thomas S Hofer
- Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck Innrain 80-82 A-6020 Innsbruck Austria
| | - Uwe Ruschewitz
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cologne Greinstraße 4-6 D-50939 Cologne Germany
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3
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Mun H, Lorpaiboon W, Ho J. In Search of the Best Low-Cost Methods for Efficient Screening of Conformers. J Phys Chem A 2024; 128:4391-4400. [PMID: 38754085 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.4c01407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Locating the lowest energy conformer is crucial for the accurate computation of equilibrium properties of molecular systems. This paper examines the performance of efficient low-cost methods in terms of the alignment and relative energies of their energy minima against the benchmark revDSD-PBEP86-D4/def2-TZVPP//MP2/cc-pVTZ potential energy surface. The low-cost methods considered include GFN-FF, GFN2-xTB, DFTB3, HF-3c, B97-3c, PBEh-3c, and r2SCAN-3c composite methods against a diverse test set of 20 compounds including alkanes, perfluoroalkyl molecules, peptides, open-shell radicals, and Zn(II) complexes of varying sizes. The "3c" composite methods are generally more accurate, but are at least 2-3 orders of magnitude more expensive than tight-binding methods which have energy minima that align well with the benchmark potential energy surface. The findings of this paper were further exploited to introduce a simple strategy involving Grimme's CENSO energy-sorting algorithm that resulted in up to an order of magnitude reduction in computational time for locating the lowest energy conformer on the revDSD-PBEP86-D4/def2-TZVPP//MP2/cc-pVTZ surface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haedam Mun
- School of Chemistry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Wanutcha Lorpaiboon
- School of Chemistry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Junming Ho
- School of Chemistry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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4
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Xiong J, Xu D. Decarboxylation Mechanism of iso-Orotate Decarboxylase Revisited. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:4218-4228. [PMID: 38720241 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
iso-Orotate decarboxylase (IDCase), which is involved in the thymidine salvage pathway, has attracted considerable interest owing to its chemical similarity to a hypothetical DNA decarboxylase in mammals. Although valuable insights into the active DNA demethylation of 5-methyl-cytosine can be obtained from the decarboxylation mechanism of 5-carboxyl-uracil (5caU) catalyzed by IDCase, this mechanism remains under debate. In this study, the catalytic mechanism of 5caU decarboxylation by IDCase was studied using hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methodologies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations with a truncated model. The calculations supported a mechanism involving three sequential stages: activation of the 5caU substrate via proton transfer from an arginine (R262') to the carboxyl group of 5caU, formation of a tetrahedral intermediate, and decarboxylation of the tetrahedral intermediate to generate uracil as the product. The reaction pathways and structures obtained using the QM/MM and DFT methods coincided with each other. These simulations provided detailed insights into the unique mechanism of IDCase, clarifying various unresolved issues, such as the critical role of R262'. In addition, aspartate D323 was found to act as a general base in the tetrahedral intermediate formation step and a general acid in the later C-C bond cleavage step.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Xiong
- School of Pharmacy, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan 610500, P. R. China
| | - Dingguo Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Technology, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, P. R. China
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5
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Teng C, Wang Y, Bao JL. Physical Prior Mean Function-Driven Gaussian Processes Search for Minimum-Energy Reaction Paths with a Climbing-Image Nudged Elastic Band: A General Method for Gas-Phase, Interfacial, and Bulk-Phase Reactions. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:4308-4324. [PMID: 38720441 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
The climbing-image nudged elastic band (CI-NEB) method serves as an indispensable tool for computational chemists, offering insight into minimum-energy reaction paths (MEPs) by delineating both transition states (TSs) and intermediate nonstationary structures along reaction coordinates. However, executing CI-NEB calculations for reactions with extensive reaction coordinate spans necessitates a large number of images to ensure a reliable convergence of the MEPs and TS structures, presenting a computationally demanding optimization challenge, even with mildly costly electronic-structure methods. In this study, we advocate for the utilization of physically inspired prior mean function-based Gaussian processes (GPs) to expedite MEP exploration and TS optimization via the CI-NEB method. By incorporating reliable prior physical approximations into potential energy surface (PES) modeling, we demonstrate enhanced efficiency in multidimensional CI-NEB optimization with surrogate-based optimizers. Our physically informed GP approach not only outperforms traditional nonsurrogate-based optimizers in optimization efficiency but also on-the-fly learns the reaction path valley during optimization, culminating in significant advancements. The surrogate PES derived from our optimization exhibits high accuracy compared to true PES references, aligning with our emphasis on leveraging reliable physical priors for robust and efficient posterior mean learning in GPs. Through a systematic benchmark study encompassing various reaction pathways, including gas-phase, bulk-phase, and interfacial/surface reactions, our physical GPs consistently demonstrate superior efficiency and reliability. For instance, they outperform the popular fast inertial relaxation engine optimizer by approximately a factor of 10, showcasing their versatility and efficacy in exploring reaction mechanisms and surface reaction PESs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chong Teng
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, United States
| | - Yang Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, United States
| | - Junwei Lucas Bao
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, United States
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6
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Listyarini R, Kriesche BM, Hofer TS. Characterization of the Coordination and Solvation Dynamics of Solvated Systems─Implications for the Analysis of Molecular Interactions in Solutions and Pure H 2O. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:3028-3045. [PMID: 38595064 PMCID: PMC11044269 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
The characterization of solvation shells of atoms, ions, and molecules in solution is essential to relate solvation properties to chemical phenomena such as complex formation and reactivity. Different definitions of the first-shell coordination sphere from simulation data can lead to potentially conflicting data on the structural properties and associated ligand exchange dynamics. The definition of a solvation shell is typically based on a given threshold distance determined from the respective solute-solvent pair distribution function g(r) (i.e., GC). Alternatively, a nearest neighbor (NN) assignment based on geometric properties of the coordination complex without the need for a predetermined cutoff criterion, such as the relative angular distance (RAD) or the modified Voronoi (MV) tessellation, can be applied. In this study, the effect of different NN algorithms on the coordination number and ligand exchange dynamics evaluated for a series of monatomic ions in aqueous solution, carbon dioxide in aqueous and dichloromethane solutions, and pure liquid water has been investigated. In the case of the monatomic ions, the RAD approach is superior in achieving a well separated definition of the first solvation layer. In contrast, the MV algorithm provides a better separation of the NNs from a molecular point of view, leading to better results in the case of solvated CO2. When analyzing the coordination environment in pure water, the cutoff-based GC framework was found to be the most reliable approach. By comparison of the number of ligand exchange reactions and the associated mean ligand residence times (MRTs) with the properties of the coordination number autocorrelation functions, it is shown that although the average coordination numbers are sensitive to the different definitions of the first solvation shell, highly consistent estimates for the associated MRT of the solvated system are obtained in the majority of cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Risnita
Vicky Listyarini
- Institute
of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry Center for Chemistry
and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck Innrain 80-82, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- Chemistry
Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta 55282, Indonesia
| | - Bernhard M. Kriesche
- Institute
of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry Center for Chemistry
and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck Innrain 80-82, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Thomas S. Hofer
- Institute
of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry Center for Chemistry
and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck Innrain 80-82, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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7
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Chu WT, Suo Z, Wang J. Three-metal ion mechanism of cross-linked and uncross-linked DNA polymerase β: A theoretical study. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:155101. [PMID: 38619457 DOI: 10.1063/5.0200109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
In our recent publication, we have proposed a revised base excision repair pathway in which DNA polymerase β (Polβ) catalyzes Schiff base formation prior to the gap-filling DNA synthesis followed by β-elimination. In addition, the polymerase activity of Polβ employs the "three-metal ion mechanism" instead of the long-standing "two-metal ion mechanism" to catalyze phosphodiester bond formation based on the fact derived from time-resolved x-ray crystallography that a third Mg2+ was captured in the polymerase active site after the chemical reaction was initiated. In this study, we develop the models of the uncross-linked and cross-linked Polβ complexes and investigate the "three-metal ion mechanism" vs the "two-metal ion mechanism" by using the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics molecular dynamics simulations. Our results suggest that the presence of the third Mg2+ ion stabilizes the reaction-state structures, strengthens correct nucleotide binding, and accelerates phosphodiester bond formation. The improved understanding of Polβ's catalytic mechanism provides valuable insights into DNA replication and damage repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Ting Chu
- State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin 130022, China
| | - Zucai Suo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, USA
| | - Jin Wang
- Department of Chemistry & Physics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA
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8
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Lai R, Li G, Cui Q. Flexibility of Binding Site is Essential to the Ca 2+ Selectivity in EF-Hand Calcium-Binding Proteins. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:7628-7639. [PMID: 38456823 PMCID: PMC11102802 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c13981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
High binding affinity and selectivity of metal ions are essential to the function of metalloproteins. Thus, understanding the factors that determine these binding characteristics is of major interest for both fundamental mechanistic investigations and guiding of the design of novel metalloproteins. In this work, we perform QM cluster model calculations and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) free energy simulations to understand the binding selectivity of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the wild-type carp parvalbumin and its mutant. While a nonpolarizable MM model (CHARMM36) does not lead to the correct experimental trend, treatment of the metal binding site with the DFTB3 model in a QM/MM framework leads to relative binding free energies (ΔΔGbind) comparable with experimental data. For the wild-type (WT) protein, the calculated ΔΔGbind is ∼6.6 kcal/mol in comparison with the experimental value of 5.6 kcal/mol. The good agreement highlights the value of a QM description of the metal binding site and supports the role of electronic polarization and charge transfer to metal binding selectivity. For the D51A/E101D/F102W mutant, different binding site models lead to considerable variations in computed binding affinities. With a coordination number of seven for Ca2+, which is shown by QM/MM metadynamics simulations to be the dominant coordination number for the mutant, the calculated relative binding affinity is ∼4.8 kcal/mol, in fair agreement with the experimental value of 1.6 kcal/mol. The WT protein is observed to feature a flexible binding site that accommodates a range of coordination numbers for Ca2+, which is essential to the high binding selectivity for Ca2+ over Mg2+. In the mutant, the E101D mutation reduces the flexibility of the binding site and limits the dominant coordination number of Ca2+ to be seven, thereby leading to reduced binding selectivity against Mg2+. Our results highlight that the binding selectivity of metal ions depends on both the structural and dynamical properties of the protein binding site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Lai
- Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Guohui Li
- Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China
| | - Qiang Cui
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department of Physics, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, 44 Cummington Mall, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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9
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García-Martínez A, Zinovjev K, Ruiz-Pernía JJ, Tuñón I. Conformational Changes and ATP Hydrolysis in Zika Helicase: The Molecular Basis of a Biomolecular Motor Unveiled by Multiscale Simulations. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:24809-24819. [PMID: 37921592 PMCID: PMC10852352 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c09015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
We computationally study the Zika NS3 helicase, a biological motor, using ATP hydrolysis energy for nucleic acid remodeling. Through molecular mechanics and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations, we explore the conformational landscape of motif V, a conserved loop connecting the active sites for ATP hydrolysis and nucleic acid binding. ATP hydrolysis, initiated by a meta-phosphate group formation, involves the nucleophilic attack of a water molecule activated by Glu286 proton abstraction. Motif V hydrogen bonds to this water via the Gly415 backbone NH group, assisting hydrolysis. Posthydrolysis, free energy is released when the inorganic phosphate moves away from the coordination shell of the magnesium ion, inducing a significant shift in the conformational landscape of motif V to establish a hydrogen bond between the Gly415 NH group and Glu285. According to our simulations, the Zika NS3 helicase acts as a ratchet biological motor with motif V transitions steered by Gly415's γ-phosphate sensing in the ATPase site.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kirill Zinovjev
- Departamento de Química Física, Universidad de Valencia, 46100 Bujassot, Spain
| | | | - Iñaki Tuñón
- Departamento de Química Física, Universidad de Valencia, 46100 Bujassot, Spain
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10
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Listyarini R, Gamper J, Hofer TS. Storage and Diffusion of Carbon Dioxide in the Metal Organic Framework MOF-5─A Semi-empirical Molecular Dynamics Study. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:9378-9389. [PMID: 37857343 PMCID: PMC10627117 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c04155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted increasing attention due to their high porosity for exceptional gas storage applications. MOF-5 belongs to the family of isoreticular MOFs (IRMOFs) and consists of Zn4O6+ clusters linked by 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate. Due to the large number of atoms in the unit cell, molecular dynamics simulation based on density functional theory has proved to be too demanding, while force field models are often inadequate to model complex host-guest interactions. To overcome this limitation, an alternative semi-empirical approach using a set of approximations and extensive parametrization of interactions called density functional tight binding (DFTB) was applied in this work to study CO2 in the MOF-5 host. Calculations of pristine MOF-5 yield very good agreement with experimental data in terms of X-ray diffraction patterns as well as mechanical properties, such as the negative thermal expansion coefficient and the bulk modulus. In addition, different loadings of CO2 were introduced, and the associated self-diffusion coefficients and activation energies were investigated. The results show very good agreement with those of other experimental and theoretical investigations. This study provides detailed insights into the capability of semi-empirical DFTB-based molecular dynamics simulations of these challenging guest@host systems. Based on the comparison of the guest-guest pair distributions observed inside the MOF host and the corresponding gas-phase reference, a liquid-like structure of CO2 can be deduced upon storage in the host material.
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Affiliation(s)
- Risnita
Vicky Listyarini
- Theoretical
Chemistry Division, Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical
Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82A, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- Chemistry
Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta 55282, Indonesia
| | - Jakob Gamper
- Theoretical
Chemistry Division, Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical
Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82A, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Thomas S. Hofer
- Theoretical
Chemistry Division, Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical
Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82A, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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11
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Wang Y, Wang Z, Qiu Z, Zhang X, Chen J, Li J, Narita A, Müllen K, Palma CA. Hydrogenation of Hexa- peri-hexabenzocoronene: An Entry to Nanographanes and Nanodiamonds. ACS NANO 2023; 17:18832-18842. [PMID: 37729013 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c03538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
The fabrication of atomically precise nanographanes is a largely unexplored frontier in carbon-sp3 nanomaterials, enabling potential applications in phononics, photonics and electronics. One strategy is the hydrogenation of prototypical nanographene monolayers and multilayers under vacuum conditions. Here, we study the interaction of atomic hydrogen, generated by a hydrogen source and hydrogen plasma, with hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene on gold using integrated time-of-flight mass spectrometry, scanning tunneling microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Density functional tight-binding molecular dynamics is employed to rationalize the conversion to sp3 carbon atoms. The resulting hydrogenation of hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene molecules is demonstrated computationally and experimentally, and the potential for atomically precise hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene-derived nanodiamond fabrication is proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wang
- School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, 100081 Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Zishu Wang
- Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 Beijing, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Zijie Qiu
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Xiaoxi Zhang
- Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 Beijing, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianing Chen
- Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Juan Li
- School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, 100081 Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Advanced Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, 100081 Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Akimitsu Narita
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Klaus Müllen
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Carlos-Andres Palma
- Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Department of Physics & IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstraße 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany
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12
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Yuan Y, Cui Q. Accurate and Efficient Multilevel Free Energy Simulations with Neural Network-Assisted Enhanced Sampling. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:5394-5406. [PMID: 37527495 PMCID: PMC10810721 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
Free energy differences (ΔF) are essential to quantitative characterization and understanding of chemical and biological processes. Their direct estimation with an accurate quantum mechanical potential is of great interest and yet impractical due to high computational cost and incompatibility with typical alchemical free energy protocols. One promising solution is the multilevel free energy simulation in which the estimate of ΔF at an inexpensive low level of theory is combined with the correction toward a higher level of theory. The poor configurational overlap generally expected between the two levels of theory, however, presents a major challenge. We overcome this challenge by using a deep neural network model and enhanced sampling simulations. An adversarial autoencoder is used to identify a low-dimensional (latent) space that compactly represents the degrees of freedom that encode the distinct distributions at the two levels of theory. Enhanced sampling in this latent space is then used to drive the sampling of configurations that predominantly contribute to the free energy correction. Results for both gas phase and condensed phase systems demonstrate that this data-driven approach offers high accuracy and efficiency with great potential for scalability to complex systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuchen Yuan
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Qiang Cui
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department of Physics, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, 44 Cummington Mall, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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13
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Luo J, Wen Y, Jia X, Lei X, Gao Z, Jian M, Xiao Z, Li L, Zhang J, Li T, Dong H, Wu X, Gao E, Jiao K, Zhang J. Fabricating strong and tough aramid fibers by small addition of carbon nanotubes. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3019. [PMID: 37230970 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38701-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Synthetic high-performance fibers present excellent mechanical properties and promising applications in the impact protection field. However, fabricating fibers with high strength and high toughness is challenging due to their intrinsic conflicts. Herein, we report a simultaneous improvement in strength, toughness, and modulus of heterocyclic aramid fibers by 26%, 66%, and 13%, respectively, via polymerizing a small amount (0.05 wt%) of short aminated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), achieving a tensile strength of 6.44 ± 0.11 GPa, a toughness of 184.0 ± 11.4 MJ m-3, and a Young's modulus of 141.7 ± 4.0 GPa. Mechanism analyses reveal that short aminated SWNTs improve the crystallinity and orientation degree by affecting the structures of heterocyclic aramid chains around SWNTs, and in situ polymerization increases the interfacial interaction therein to promote stress transfer and suppress strain localization. These two effects account for the simultaneous improvement in strength and toughness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajun Luo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, School of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Beijing Science and Engineering Center for Nanocarbons, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
- Beijing Graphene Institute (BGI), 100095, Beijing, China
| | - Yeye Wen
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, School of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Beijing Science and Engineering Center for Nanocarbons, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
- Beijing Graphene Institute (BGI), 100095, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangzheng Jia
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, 430072, Wuhan, China
| | - Xudong Lei
- Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China
- School of Engineering Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenfei Gao
- Beijing Graphene Institute (BGI), 100095, Beijing, China
| | - Muqiang Jian
- Beijing Graphene Institute (BGI), 100095, Beijing, China
| | - Zhihua Xiao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, School of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Beijing Science and Engineering Center for Nanocarbons, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
- Beijing Graphene Institute (BGI), 100095, Beijing, China
| | - Lanying Li
- China Bluestar Chengrand Chemical Co., Ltd, 611430, Chengdu, China
| | - Jiangwei Zhang
- Science Center of Energy Material and Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University, 010021, Hohhot, China
| | - Tao Li
- Beijing Graphene Institute (BGI), 100095, Beijing, China
| | - Hongliang Dong
- Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, 201203, Shanghai, China
| | - Xianqian Wu
- Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China.
- School of Engineering Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China.
| | - Enlai Gao
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, 430072, Wuhan, China.
| | - Kun Jiao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, School of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Beijing Science and Engineering Center for Nanocarbons, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China.
- Beijing Graphene Institute (BGI), 100095, Beijing, China.
| | - Jin Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, School of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Beijing Science and Engineering Center for Nanocarbons, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China.
- Beijing Graphene Institute (BGI), 100095, Beijing, China.
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14
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Deng J, Cui Q. Second-Shell Residues Contribute to Catalysis by Predominately Preorganizing the Apo State in PafA. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:11333-11347. [PMID: 37172218 PMCID: PMC10810092 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c02423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Residues beyond the first coordination shell are often observed to make considerable cumulative contributions in enzymes. Due to typically indirect perturbations of multiple physicochemical properties of the active site, however, their individual and specific roles in enzyme catalysis and disease-causing mutations remain difficult to predict and understand at the molecular level. Here we analyze the contributions of several second-shell residues in phosphate-irrepressible alkaline phosphatase of flavobacterium (PafA), a representative system as one of the most efficient enzymes. By adopting a multifaceted approach that integrates quantum-mechanical/molecular-mechanical free energy computations, molecular-mechanical molecular dynamics simulations, and density functional theory cluster model calculations, we probe the rate-limiting phosphoryl transfer step and structural properties of all relevant enzyme states. In combination with available experimental data, our computational results show that mutations of the studied second-shell residues impact catalytic efficiency mainly by perturbation of the apo state and therefore substrate binding, while they do not affect the ground state or alter the nature of phosphoryl transfer transition state significantly. Several second-shell mutations also modulate the active site hydration level, which in turn influences the energetics of phosphoryl transfer. These mechanistic insights also help inform strategies that may improve the efficiency of enzyme design and engineering by going beyond the current focus on the first coordination shell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahua Deng
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Qiang Cui
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department of Physics, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, 44 Cummington Mall, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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15
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Jain P, Kumari G, Bhogra M, Yanda P, Joseph B, Waghmare UV, Narayana C. Raman Evidence of Multiple Adsorption Sites and Structural Transformation in ZIF-4. Inorg Chem 2023; 62:7703-7715. [PMID: 37163305 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c00067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
The zeolitic imidazolate framework, ZIF-4, exhibits soft porosity and is known to show pore volume changes with temperatures, pressures, and guest adsorption. However, the mechanism and adsorption behavior of ZIF-4 are not completely understood. In this work, we report an open to narrow pore transition in ZIF-4 around T ∼ 253 K upon lowering the temperature under vacuum (10-6 Torr) conditions, facilitated by C-H···π interactions. In the gaseous environment of N2 and CO2 around the framework, characteristic Raman peaks of adsorbed gases were observed under ambient conditions of 293 K and 1 atm. A guest-induced transition at ∼153 K resulting in the opening of new adsorption sites was inferred from the Raman spectral changes in the C-H stretching modes and low-frequency modes (<200 cm-1). In contrast to a single vibrational mode generally reported for entrapped N2, we show three Raman modes of adsorbed N2 in ZIF-4. The adsorption is facilitated by dispersive and quadrupolar interactions. From our temperature-dependent Raman results and theoretical analysis based on the density functional tight-binding approach, we conclude that the C-Hs are the preferred adsorption sites on ZIF-4 in the following order: C4-H, C5-H > C2-H > center of the Im ring (interacting with C-H centers) > center of the cavity. We also show that with an increasing concentration of N2 adsorbed at low temperatures, the ZIF-4 structure undergoes shear distortion of the window formed by 4-imidazole rings and consequent volumetric expansion. Our results have immediate implications in the field of porous materials and could be vital in identifying subtle structural transformations that may favor or hinder guest adsorption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priyanka Jain
- Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Karnataka 560064, India
- School of Advanced Materials, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Karnataka 560064, India
| | - Gayatri Kumari
- Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Karnataka 560064, India
| | - Meha Bhogra
- Theoretical Science Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Karnataka 560064, India
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shiv Nadar University, Gautam Budh Nagar, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201314, India
| | - Premakumar Yanda
- Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Karnataka 560064, India
- School of Advanced Materials, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Karnataka 560064, India
| | - Boby Joseph
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C. p. A., S.S. 14, Km 163.5 in Area Science Park, Basovizza 34149, Italy
| | - Umesh V Waghmare
- Theoretical Science Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Karnataka 560064, India
| | - Chandrabhas Narayana
- Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Karnataka 560064, India
- School of Advanced Materials, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Karnataka 560064, India
- Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695014, India
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16
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Schöller A, Woodcock HL, Boresch S. Exploring Routes to Enhance the Calculation of Free Energy Differences via Non-Equilibrium Work SQM/MM Switching Simulations Using Hybrid Charge Intermediates between MM and SQM Levels of Theory or Non-Linear Switching Schemes. Molecules 2023; 28:4006. [PMID: 37241747 PMCID: PMC10222338 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28104006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Non-equilibrium work switching simulations and Jarzynski's equation are a reliable method for computing free energy differences, ΔAlow→high, between two levels of theory, such as a pure molecular mechanical (MM) and a quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) description of a system of interest. Despite the inherent parallelism, the computational cost of this approach can quickly become very high. This is particularly true for systems where the core region, the part of the system to be described at different levels of theory, is embedded in an environment such as explicit solvent water. We find that even for relatively simple solute-water systems, switching lengths of at least 5 ps are necessary to compute ΔAlow→high reliably. In this study, we investigate two approaches towards an affordable protocol, with an emphasis on keeping the switching length well below 5 ps. Inserting a hybrid charge intermediate state with modified partial charges, which resembles the charge distribution of the desired high level, makes it possible to obtain reliable calculations with 2 ps switches. Attempts using step-wise linear switching paths, on the other hand, did not lead to improvement, i.e., a faster convergence for all systems. To understand these findings, we analyzed the solutes' properties as a function of the partial charges used and the number of water molecules in direct contact with the solute, and studied the time needed for water molecules to reorient themselves upon a change in the solute's charge distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Schöller
- Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Computational Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währingerstr. 17, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Doctoral School in Chemistry (DoSChem), University of Vienna, Währingerstr. 42, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - H. Lee Woodcock
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., CHE205, Tampa, FL 33620-5250, USA;
| | - Stefan Boresch
- Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Computational Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währingerstr. 17, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
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17
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Hanasaki K, Ali ZA, Choi M, Del Ben M, Wong BM. Implementation of real-time TDDFT for periodic systems in the open-source PySCF software package. J Comput Chem 2023; 44:980-987. [PMID: 36564979 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.27058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
We present a new implementation of real-time time-dependent density functional theory (RT-TDDFT) for calculating excited-state dynamics of periodic systems in the open-source Python-based PySCF software package. Our implementation uses Gaussian basis functions in a velocity gauge formalism and can be applied to periodic surfaces, condensed-phase, and molecular systems. As representative benchmark applications, we present optical absorption calculations of various molecular and bulk systems and a real-time simulation of field-induced dynamics of a (ZnO)4 molecular cluster on a periodic graphene sheet. We present representative calculations on optical response of solids to infinitesimal external fields as well as real-time charge-transfer dynamics induced by strong pulsed laser fields. Due to the widespread use of the Python language, our RT-TDDFT implementation can be easily modified and provides a new capability in the PySCF code for real-time excited-state calculations of chemical and material systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kota Hanasaki
- Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering Program, Department of Chemistry, and Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, California, USA
| | - Zulfikhar A Ali
- Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering Program, Department of Chemistry, and Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, California, USA
| | - Min Choi
- Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering Program, Department of Chemistry, and Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, California, USA
| | - Mauro Del Ben
- Applied Mathematics & Computational Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Bryan M Wong
- Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering Program, Department of Chemistry, and Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, California, USA
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18
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Sen S, Visscher L. Towards the description of charge transfer states in solubilised LHCII using subsystem DFT. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2023; 156:39-57. [PMID: 35988131 PMCID: PMC10070235 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-022-00950-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Light harvesting complex II (LHCII) in plants and green algae have been shown to adapt their absorption properties, depending on the concentration of sunlight, switching between a light harvesting and a non-harvesting or quenched state. In a recent work, combining classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with quantum chemical calculations (Liguori et al. in Sci Rep 5:15661, 2015) on LHCII, it was shown that the Chl611-Chl612 cluster of the terminal emitter domain can play an important role in modifying the spectral properties of the complex. In that work the importance of charge transfer (CT) effects was highlighted, in re-shaping the absorption intensity of the chlorophyll dimer. Here in this work, we investigate the combined effect of the local excited (LE) and CT states in shaping the energy landscape of the chlorophyll dimer. Using subsystem Density Functional Theory over the classical [Formula: see text]s MD trajectory we look explicitly into the excitation energies of the LE and the CT states of the dimer and their corresponding couplings. Upon doing so, we observe a drop in the excitation energies of the CT states, accompanied by an increase in the couplings between the LE/LE and the LE/CT states facilitated by a shorter interchromophoric distance upon equilibration. Both these changes in conjunction, effectively produces a red-shift of the low-lying mixed exciton/CT states of the supramolecular chromophore pair.
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Affiliation(s)
- Souloke Sen
- Division of Theoretical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1083, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Lucas Visscher
- Division of Theoretical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1083, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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19
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Sinha S, Pindi C, Ahsan M, Arantes PR, Palermo G. Machines on Genes through the Computational Microscope. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:1945-1964. [PMID: 36947696 PMCID: PMC10104023 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c01313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
Macromolecular machines acting on genes are at the core of life's fundamental processes, including DNA replication and repair, gene transcription and regulation, chromatin packaging, RNA splicing, and genome editing. Here, we report the increasing role of computational biophysics in characterizing the mechanisms of "machines on genes", focusing on innovative applications of computational methods and their integration with structural and biophysical experiments. We showcase how state-of-the-art computational methods, including classical and ab initio molecular dynamics to enhanced sampling techniques, and coarse-grained approaches are used for understanding and exploring gene machines for real-world applications. As this review unfolds, advanced computational methods describe the biophysical function that is unseen through experimental techniques, accomplishing the power of the "computational microscope", an expression coined by Klaus Schulten to highlight the extraordinary capability of computer simulations. Pushing the frontiers of computational biophysics toward a pragmatic representation of large multimegadalton biomolecular complexes is instrumental in bridging the gap between experimentally obtained macroscopic observables and the molecular principles playing at the microscopic level. This understanding will help harness molecular machines for medical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological purposes.
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20
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A modified bonded model approach for molecular dynamics simulations of New Delhi Metallo-β-lactamase. J Mol Graph Model 2023; 121:108431. [PMID: 36827734 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2023.108431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
Modelling metalloproteins using the classical force fields is challenging. Several methods have been devised to model metalloproteins in force fields. Of these methods, the bonded model, combined with Restrained Electrostatic Potential (RESP) charge fitting, proved its superiority. The latter method was facilitated by the development of the python-based Metal Centre Parameter Builder (MCPB.py) AmberTool. However, the standard bonded model method offered by the MCPB.py tool may not be appropriate for validating and refining the binding modes predicted by docking when crystal structures are lacking. That is because the representation of coordination interactions between any bound ligand and metal ions by covalent bonds can hinder the flexibility of the ligand. Therefore, a new modification to the standard bonded model approach is proposed here. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on the new modified bonded model (MBM) approach avoid the bias caused by coordination bonds and, unlike hybrid QM/MM MD, allow for sufficient sampling of the binding mode given the currently available computational power. The MBM MD approach reproduced the studied crystal structure conformations of New Delhi Metallo-β-lactamase 1 (NDM-1). Furthermore, the MBM approach described the binding interactions of intact β-lactams with NDM-1 reasonably, and predicted a non-productive binding mode for the poor NDM-1 substrate aztreonam whilst predicting productive binding modes for known good substrates. This study presents a useful MD method for metallo-β-lactamases and provides better understanding of β-lactam substrates recognition by NDM-1. The proposed MBM approach might also be useful in the investigation of other metal-containing protein targets.
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21
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Purtscher FS, Christanell L, Schulte M, Seiwald S, Rödl M, Ober I, Maruschka LK, Khoder H, Schwartz HA, Bendeif EE, Hofer TS. Structural Properties of Metal-Organic Frameworks at Elevated Thermal Conditions via a Combined Density Functional Tight Binding Molecular Dynamics (DFTB MD) Approach. THE JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY. C, NANOMATERIALS AND INTERFACES 2023; 127:1560-1575. [PMID: 36721770 PMCID: PMC9884096 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c05103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The performance of different density functional tight binding (DFTB) methods for the description of six increasingly complex metal-organic framework (MOF) compounds have been assessed. In particular the self-consistent charge density functional tight binding (SCC DFTB) approach utilizing the 3ob and matsci parameter sets have been considered for a set of four Zn-based and two Al-based MOF systems. Moreover, the extended tight binding for geometries, frequencies, and noncovalent interactions (GFN2-xTB) approach has been considered as well. In addition to the application of energy minimizations of the respective unit cells, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at constant temperature and pressure conditions (298.15 K, 1.013 bar) have been carried out to assess the performance of the different DFTB methods at nonzero thermal conditions. In order to obtain the XRD patterns from the MD simulations, a flexible workflow to obtain time-averaged XRD patterns from (in this study 5000) individual snapshots taken at regular intervals over the simulation trajectory has been applied. In addition, the comparison of pair-distribution functions (PDFs) directly accessible from the simulation data shows very good agreement with experimental reference data obtained via measurements employing synchrotron radiation in case of MOF-5. The comparison of the lattice constants and the associated X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns with the experimental reference data demonstrate, that the SCC DFTB approach provides a highly efficient and accurate description of the target systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix
R. S. Purtscher
- Institute
of General, Inorganic, and Theoretical Chemistry, Center for Chemistry
and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, A-6020Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Leo Christanell
- Institute
of General, Inorganic, and Theoretical Chemistry, Center for Chemistry
and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, A-6020Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Moritz Schulte
- Institute
of General, Inorganic, and Theoretical Chemistry, Center for Chemistry
and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, A-6020Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Stefan Seiwald
- Institute
of General, Inorganic, and Theoretical Chemistry, Center for Chemistry
and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, A-6020Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Markus Rödl
- Institute
of General, Inorganic, and Theoretical Chemistry, Center for Chemistry
and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, A-6020Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Isabell Ober
- Institute
of General, Inorganic, and Theoretical Chemistry, Center for Chemistry
and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, A-6020Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Leah K. Maruschka
- Institute
of General, Inorganic, and Theoretical Chemistry, Center for Chemistry
and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, A-6020Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Hassan Khoder
- CRM2
UMR, CNRS 7036, Université de Lorraine, F-54000Vandæuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | - Heidi A. Schwartz
- Institute
of General, Inorganic, and Theoretical Chemistry, Center for Chemistry
and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, A-6020Innsbruck, Austria
| | - El-Eulmi Bendeif
- CRM2
UMR, CNRS 7036, Université de Lorraine, F-54000Vandæuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | - Thomas S. Hofer
- Institute
of General, Inorganic, and Theoretical Chemistry, Center for Chemistry
and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, A-6020Innsbruck, Austria
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22
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Zhao YY, Deng H, Rahman A, Xu XL, Qian P, Guo H. Computational Study of Methionine Methylation Process Catalyzed by SETD3. Interdiscip Sci 2022; 14:929-936. [PMID: 35419695 DOI: 10.1007/s12539-022-00516-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The SETD3 enzyme has been identified as the methyltransferase for the His73 methylation in β-actin, and such methylation plays an important role in regulating the actin's biochemical properties and fine-tuning the protein's cellular roles. Further studies have demonstrated that SETD3 may be able to methylase some other residues, including lysine and methionine, that substitute His73 in the β-actin peptide. The activity of SETD3 on the Met73 peptide is low without turnover. Interestingly, it has been shown that the N255V and N255A mutations of SETD3 can increase the activity by about 3-fold for the methionine methylation, while such mutations lead to a significant reduction of kcat for the His73 methylation. The detailed mechanism that leads to such increase of the activity for the Met73 methylation as a result of the mutations has not been understood. In this work, QM/MM molecular dynamics (MD) and potential of mean force (PMF) free energy simulations are undertaken for investigating structural, dynamic, and energetic properties involving the complex of SETD3 and Met73 peptide and to study the SETD3-catalyzed methionine methylation and the effects of the N255V mutation. It is demonstrated that the free energy barrier in the case of the methionine methylation in SETD3 is about 10 kcal/mol higher than that for the histidine methylation. Moreover, the free energy barrier for the methionine methylation in the N255V mutant is about 1 kcal/mol lower than that in the wild-type enzyme. These results agree with previous experimental observation. The origin of the free-energy barrier changes as a result of the H to M substitution on the β-actin peptide and the N255V mutation of SETD3 is discussed based on the data obtained from the simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan-Yuan Zhao
- Chemistry and Material Science Faculty, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, People's Republic of China
| | - Hao Deng
- Chemistry and Material Science Faculty, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, People's Republic of China
| | - Adua Rahman
- Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Xiao-Long Xu
- Chemistry and Material Science Faculty, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, People's Republic of China
| | - Ping Qian
- Chemistry and Material Science Faculty, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Film Application of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Taian, 271018, People's Republic of China.
| | - Hong Guo
- Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA.
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23
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Abstract
Carbenes are highly reactive compounds with unique value to synthetic chemistry. However, a small number of natural enzymes have been shown to utilize carbene chemistry, and artificial enzymes engineered with directed evolution required transition metal ions to stabilize the carbene intermediates. To facilitate the design of broader classes of enzymes that can take advantage of the rich carbene chemistry, it is thus important to better understand how to stabilize carbene species in enzyme active sites without metal ions. Motivated by our recent studies of the anaerobic ergothioneine biosynthesis enzyme EanB, we examine carbene-protein interaction with both cluster models and QM/MM simulations. The cluster calculations find that an N-heterocyclic carbene interacts strongly with polar and positively charged protein motifs. In particular, the interaction between a guanidinium group and carbene is as strong as ∼30 kcal/mol, making arginine a great choice for the preferential stabilization of carbenes. We also compare the WT EanB and its mutant in which the key tyrosine was replaced by a non-natural analogue (F2Tyr) using DFTB3/MM simulations. The calculations suggest that the carbene intermediate in the F2Tyr mutant is more stable than that in the WT enzyme by ∼3.5 kcal/mol, due to active site rearrangements that enable a nearby arginine to better stabilize the carbene in the mutant. Overall, the current work lays the foundation for the pursuit of enzyme designs that can take advantage of the unique chemistry offered by carbenes without the requirement of metal ions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Lai
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China
| | - Qiang Cui
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department of Physics, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, 44 Cummington Mall, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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24
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Aghahosseini A, Edjlali L, Jamehbozorgi S, Rezvani M, Ghasemi E. Theoretical investigations of functionalization of graphene and ZnO monolayers with Mercaptopurine at aqueous media: a dispersion-corrected DFT calculations and Molecular dynamic simulations. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2022.120865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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25
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Atahan-Evrenk S. Theoretical Study of the Structure and Binding Energies of Dimers of Zn(II)-Porphyrin Derivatives. J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:7102-7109. [PMID: 36194887 PMCID: PMC9574925 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c03692] [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] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Zinc-complexed porphyrin and chlorophyll derivatives form functional aggregates with remarkable photophysical and optoelectronic properties. Understanding the type and strength of intermolecular interactions between these molecules is essential for designing new materials with desired morphology and functionality. The dimer interactions of a molecular set composed of porphyrin derivatives obtained by substitutional changes starting from free-base porphyrin is studied. It is found that the B97M-rV/def2-TZVP level of theory provides a good compromise between the accuracy and cost to get the dimer geometries and interaction energies (IEs). The neglect of the relaxation energy due to the change in the monomer configurations upon complex formation causes a more significant error than the basis set superposition error. The metal complexation increases the binding energy by about -6 to -8 kcal/mol, and the introduction of keto and hydroxy groups further stabilizes the dimers by about -20 kcal/mol. Although the saturation of one of the pyrrol double bonds does not change the IE, the addition of R groups increases it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sule Atahan-Evrenk
- Faculty of Medicine, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Sogutozu Cd No. 43 Sogutozu, Ankara06560, Turkey
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26
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Gregory KP, Elliott GR, Wanless EJ, Webber GB, Page AJ. A quantum chemical molecular dynamics repository of solvated ions. Sci Data 2022; 9:430. [PMID: 35864118 PMCID: PMC9304403 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01527-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The importance of ion-solvent interactions in predicting specific ion effects in contexts ranging from viral activity through to electrolyte viscosity cannot be underestimated. Moreover, investigations of specific ion effects in nonaqueous systems, highly relevant to battery technologies, biochemical systems and colloid science, are severely limited by data deficiency. Here, we report IonSolvR – a collection of more than 3,000 distinct nanosecond-scale ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of ions in aqueous and non-aqueous solvent environments at varying effective concentrations. Density functional tight binding (DFTB) is used to detail the solvation structure of up to 55 solutes in 28 different protic and aprotic solvents. DFTB is a fast quantum chemical method, and as such enables us to bridge the gap between efficient computational scaling and maintaining accuracy, while using an internally-consistent simulation technique. We validate the database against experimental data and provide guidance for accessing individual IonSolvR records. Measurement(s) | solvation structure | Technology Type(s) | quantum chemistry computational method • Molecular Dynamics |
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasimir P Gregory
- Discipline of Chemistry, School of Environmental & Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia.,Department of Materials Physics, Research School of Physics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia
| | - Gareth R Elliott
- Discipline of Chemistry, School of Environmental & Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia
| | - Erica J Wanless
- Discipline of Chemistry, School of Environmental & Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia
| | - Grant B Webber
- Discipline of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia
| | - Alister J Page
- Discipline of Chemistry, School of Environmental & Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia.
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27
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Douglas-Gallardo OA, Murillo-López JA, Oller J, Mulholland AJ, Vöhringer-Martinez E. Carbon Dioxide Fixation in RuBisCO Is Protonation-State-Dependent and Irreversible. ACS Catal 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.2c01677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Oscar A. Douglas-Gallardo
- Departamento de Físico-Química, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
| | - Juliana A. Murillo-López
- Departamento de Físico-Química, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
| | - Javier Oller
- Departamento de Físico-Química, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
- Departamento de Química Orgánica y Fisicoquímica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 8380000, Chile
| | - Adrian J. Mulholland
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, United Kingdom
| | - Esteban Vöhringer-Martinez
- Departamento de Físico-Química, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
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28
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Ehlert S, Grimme S, Hansen A. Conformational Energy Benchmark for Longer n-Alkane Chains. J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:3521-3535. [PMID: 35616628 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c02439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We present the first benchmark set focusing on the conformational energies of highly flexible, long n-alkane chains, termed ACONFL. Unbranched alkanes are ubiquitous building blocks in nature, so the goal is to be able to calculate their properties most accurately to improve the modeling of, e.g., complex (biological) systems. Very accurate DLPNO-CCSD(T1)/CBS reference values are provided, which allow for a statistical meaningful evaluation of even the best available density functional methods. The performance of established and modern (dispersion corrected) density functionals is comprehensively assessed. The recently introduced r2SCAN-V functional shows excellent performance, similar to efficient composite DFT methods like B97-3c and r2SCAN-3c, which provide an even better cost-accuracy ratio, while almost reaching the accuracy of much more computationally demanding hybrid or double hybrid functionals with large QZ AO basis sets. In addition, we investigated the performance of common wave function methods, where MP2/CBS surprisingly performs worse compared to the simple D4 dispersion corrected Hartree-Fock. Furthermore, we investigate the performance of several semiempirical and force field methods, which are commonly used for the generation of conformational ensembles in multilevel workflows or in large scale molecular dynamics studies. Outstanding performance is obtained by the recently introduced general force field, GFN-FF, while other commonly applied methods like the universal force field yield large errors. We recommend the ACONFL as a helpful benchmark set for parametrization of new semiempirical or force field methods and machine learning potentials as well as a meaningful validation set for newly developed DFT or dispersion methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Ehlert
- Mulliken Center for Theoretical Chemistry, Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn, Beringstrasse 4, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Stefan Grimme
- Mulliken Center for Theoretical Chemistry, Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn, Beringstrasse 4, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Andreas Hansen
- Mulliken Center for Theoretical Chemistry, Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn, Beringstrasse 4, 53115 Bonn, Germany
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29
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Schöller A, Kearns F, Woodcock HL, Boresch S. Optimizing the Calculation of Free Energy Differences in Nonequilibrium Work SQM/MM Switching Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:2798-2811. [PMID: 35404610 PMCID: PMC9036525 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c00696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
A key step during indirect alchemical free energy simulations using quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) hybrid potential energy functions is the calculation of the free energy difference ΔAlow→high between the low level (e.g., pure MM) and the high level of theory (QM/MM). A reliable approach uses nonequilibrium work (NEW) switching simulations in combination with Jarzynski's equation; however, it is computationally expensive. In this study, we investigate whether it is more efficient to use more shorter switches or fewer but longer switches. We compare results obtained with various protocols to reference free energy differences calculated with Crooks' equation. The central finding is that fewer longer switches give better converged results. As few as 200 sufficiently long switches lead to ΔAlow→high values in good agreement with the reference results. This optimized protocol reduces the computational cost by a factor of 40 compared to earlier work. We also describe two tools/ways of analyzing the raw data to detect sources of poor convergence. Specifically, we find it helpful to analyze the raw data (work values from the NEW switching simulations) in a quasi-time series-like manner. Principal component analysis helps to detect cases where one or more conformational degrees of freedom are different at the low and high level of theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Schöller
- Faculty
of Chemistry, Department of Computational Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währingerstrasse 17, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
- Vienna
Doctoral School in Chemistry (DoSChem), University of Vienna, Währingerstrasse 42, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Fiona Kearns
- Department
of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, CHE205, Tampa, Florida 33620-5250, United States
| | - H. Lee Woodcock
- Department
of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, CHE205, Tampa, Florida 33620-5250, United States
| | - Stefan Boresch
- Faculty
of Chemistry, Department of Computational Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währingerstrasse 17, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
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30
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Rödl M, Reka A, Panic M, Fischereder A, Oberlechner M, Mairegger T, Kopacka H, Huppertz H, Hofer TS, Schwartz HA. Fundamental Study of the Optical and Vibrational Properties of Fx-AZB@MOF systems as Functions of Dye Substitution and the Loading Amount. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:4295-4309. [PMID: 35344366 PMCID: PMC9009183 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c03482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Controlling the switching efficiency of photoactive hybrid systems is an obligatory key prerequisite for systematically improving the design of functional materials. By modulating the degree of fluorination and the amount being embedded into porous hosts, the E/Z ratios of fluorinated azobenzenes were adjusted as both functions of substitution and the degree of loading. Octafluoroazobenzene (F8-AZB) and perfluoroazobenzene (F10-AZB) were inserted into porous DMOF-1. Especially for perfluoroazobenzene (F10-AZB), an immense stabilization of the E isomer was observed. In complementary molecular dynamics simulations performed at the DFTB (density functional tight binding) level, an in-depth characterization of the interactions of the different photoisomers and the host structure was carried out. On the basis of the resulting structural and energetic data, the experimentally observed increase in the amount of the Z conformer for F8-AZB can be explained, while the stabilization of E-F10-AZB can be directly related to a fundamentally different interaction motif compared to its tetra- and octafluorinated counterparts.
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31
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Hintzen JCJ, Ma H, Deng H, Witecka A, Andersen SB, Drozak J, Guo H, Qian P, Li H, Mecinović J. Histidine methyltransferase
SETD3
methylates structurally diverse histidine mimics in actin. Protein Sci 2022; 31:e4305. [PMID: 35481649 PMCID: PMC9004244 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Actin histidine Nτ‐methylation by histidine methyltransferase SETD3 plays an important role in human biology and diseases. Here, we report integrated synthetic, biocatalytic, biostructural, and computational analyses on human SETD3‐catalyzed methylation of actin peptides possessing histidine and its structurally and chemically diverse mimics. Our enzyme assays supported by biostructural analyses demonstrate that SETD3 has a broader substrate scope beyond histidine, including N‐nucleophiles on the aromatic and aliphatic side chains. Quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical molecular dynamics and free‐energy simulations provide insight into binding geometries and the free energy barrier for the enzymatic methyl transfer to histidine mimics, further supporting experimental data that histidine is the superior SETD3 substrate over its analogs. This work demonstrates that human SETD3 has a potential to catalyze efficient methylation of several histidine mimics, overall providing mechanistic, biocatalytic, and functional insight into actin histidine methylation by SETD3. PDB Code(s): 7W28 and 7W29
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi C. J. Hintzen
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy University of Southern Denmark Odense Denmark
| | - Huida Ma
- MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, School of Medicine, Tsinghua‐Peking Center for Life Sciences Tsinghua University Beijing China
| | - Hao Deng
- Chemistry and Materials Science Faculty Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an Shandong China
| | - Apolonia Witecka
- Department of Metabolic Regulation, Faculty of Biology University of Warsaw Warsaw Poland
| | - Steffen B. Andersen
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy University of Southern Denmark Odense Denmark
| | - Jakub Drozak
- Department of Metabolic Regulation, Faculty of Biology University of Warsaw Warsaw Poland
| | - Hong Guo
- Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology University of Tennessee Knoxville Tennessee USA
- UT/ORNL Center for Molecular Biophysics Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge Tennessee USA
| | - Ping Qian
- Chemistry and Materials Science Faculty Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an Shandong China
| | - Haitao Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, School of Medicine, Tsinghua‐Peking Center for Life Sciences Tsinghua University Beijing China
| | - Jasmin Mecinović
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy University of Southern Denmark Odense Denmark
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32
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Rallapalli KL, Ranzau BL, Ganapathy KR, Paesani F, Komor AC. Combined Theoretical, Bioinformatic, and Biochemical Analyses of RNA Editing by Adenine Base Editors. CRISPR J 2022; 5:294-310. [PMID: 35353638 DOI: 10.1089/crispr.2021.0131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Adenine base editors (ABEs) have been subjected to multiple rounds of mutagenesis with the goal of optimizing their function as efficient and precise genome editing agents. Despite an ever-expanding data set of ABE mutants and their corresponding DNA or RNA-editing activity, the molecular mechanisms defining these changes remain to be elucidated. In this study, we provide a systematic interpretation of the nature of these mutations using an entropy-based classification model that relies on evolutionary data from extant protein sequences. Using this model in conjunction with experimental analyses, we identify two previously reported mutations that form an epistatic pair in the RNA-editing functional landscape of ABEs. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal the atomistic details of how these two mutations affect substrate-binding and catalytic activity, via both individual and cooperative effects, hence providing insights into the mechanisms through which these two mutations are epistatically coupled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kartik L Rallapalli
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA; University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Brodie L Ranzau
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA; University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Kaushik R Ganapathy
- Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA; University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Francesco Paesani
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA; University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.,Materials Science and Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA; and University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.,San Diego Supercomputer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Alexis C Komor
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA; University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
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33
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Yoon HR, Chai CC, Kim CH, Kang NS. A Study on the Effect of the Substituent against PAK4 Inhibition Using In Silico Methods. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23063337. [PMID: 35328758 PMCID: PMC8953563 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23063337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The intrinsic inductive properties of atoms or functional groups depend on the chemical properties of either electron-withdrawing groups (EWGs) or electron-donating groups (EDGs). This study aimed to evaluate in silico methods to determine whether changes in chemical properties of the compound by single atomic substitution affect the biological activity of target proteins and whether the results depend on the properties of the functional groups. We found an imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine-based PAK4 inhibitor, compound 1, as an initial hit compound with the well-defined binding mode for PAK4. In this study, we used both experimental and in silico methods to investigate the effect of atomic substitution on biological activity to optimize the initial hit compound. In biological assays, in the case of EWG, as the size of the halogen atom became smaller and the electronegativity increased, the biological activity IC50 value ranged from 5150 nM to inactive; in the case of EDG, biological activity was inactive. Furthermore, we analyzed the interactions of PAK4 with compounds, focusing on the hinge region residues, L398 and E399, and gatekeeper residues, M395 and K350, of the PAK4 protein using molecular docking studies and fragment molecular orbital (FMO) methods to determine the differences between the effect of EWG and EDG on the activity of target proteins. These results of the docking score and binding energy did not explain the differences in biological activity. However, the pair-interaction energy obtained from the results of the FMO method indicated that there was a difference in the interaction energy between the EWG and EDG in the hinge region residues, L398 and E399, as well as in M395 and K350. The two groups with different properties exhibited opposite electrostatic energy and charge transfer energy between L398 and E399. Additionally, we investigated the electron distribution of the parts interacting with the hinge region by visualizing the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) surface of the compounds. In conclusion, we described the properties of functional groups that affect biological activity using an in silico method, FMO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hye Ree Yoon
- Graduate School of New Drug Discovery and Development, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Korea;
| | - Chong Chul Chai
- Pharos iBio Co., Ltd. #1408, 38 Heungan-daero 427, Dongan-gu, Anyang-si 14059, Korea; (C.C.C.); (C.H.K.)
| | - Cheol Hee Kim
- Pharos iBio Co., Ltd. #1408, 38 Heungan-daero 427, Dongan-gu, Anyang-si 14059, Korea; (C.C.C.); (C.H.K.)
| | - Nam Sook Kang
- Graduate School of New Drug Discovery and Development, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Korea;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +82-42-821-8626
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34
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Gallmetzer HG, Hofer TS. Probing the range of applicability of structure- and energy-adjusted QM/MM link bonds II: Optimized link bond parameters for density functional tight binding approaches. J Comput Chem 2022; 43:746-756. [PMID: 35239208 PMCID: PMC9314059 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.26830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Optimized link bond parameters for the Cα—Cβ bond of 22 different capped amino acid model systems have been determined at SCC DFTB/mio (self‐consistent charge density functional tight‐binding), SCC DFTB/3ob and GFNn‐xTB (n = 0, 1, and 2) level in conjunction with the AMBER 99SB, 14SB, and 19B force fields. The resulting parameter sets have been compared to newly calculated reference data obtained via resolution‐of‐identity 2nd order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory. The data collected in this work suggests that the optimized values in this study provide a more suitable setup of the QM/MM link bonds compared to the use of a single global setting applied to every amino acid fragmented by the QM/MM interface. The results also imply that a transfer of the ideal link bond settings between different levels of theory is not advised. In contrast, virtually identical parameters were obtained in calculations employing different variants of the AMBER force field. Considering the increasing success of tight binding based approaches being inter alia a results of their exceptional accuracy/effort ratio the provided collection of link atoms parameters provides a valuable resource for QM/MM studies of biomacromolecular systems as demonstrated in an exemplary QM/MM MD simulation of the β‐amyloid/Zn2+ complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hans Georg Gallmetzer
- Theoretical Chemistry Division, Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, Center for Chemistry and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Thomas S Hofer
- Theoretical Chemistry Division, Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, Center for Chemistry and Biomedicine, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
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35
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Demapan D, Kussmann J, Ochsenfeld C, Cui Q. Factors That Determine the Variation of Equilibrium and Kinetic Properties of QM/MM Enzyme Simulations: QM Region, Conformation, and Boundary Condition. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:2530-2542. [PMID: 35226489 PMCID: PMC9652774 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
To analyze the impact of various technical details on the results of quantum mechanical (QM)/molecular mechanical (MM) enzyme simulations, including the QM region size, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is studied as a model system using an approximate QM/MM method (DFTB3/CHARMM). The results show that key equilibrium and kinetic properties for methyl transfer in COMT exhibit limited variations with respect to the size of the QM region, which ranges from ∼100 to ∼500 atoms in this study. With extensive sampling, local and global structural characteristics of the enzyme are largely conserved across the studied QM regions, while the nature of the transition state (e.g., secondary kinetic isotope effect) and reaction exergonicity are largely maintained. Deviations in the free energy profile with different QM region sizes are similar in magnitude to those observed with changes in other simulation protocols, such as different initial enzyme conformations and boundary conditions. Electronic structural properties, such as the covariance matrix of residual charge fluctuations, appear to exhibit rather long-range correlations, especially when the peptide backbone is included in the QM region; this observation holds when a range-separated DFT approach is used as the QM region, suggesting that delocalization error is unlikely the origin. Overall, the analyses suggest that multiple simulation details determine the results of QM/MM enzyme simulations with comparable contributions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren Demapan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Munich (LMU), Butenandtstr. 7 (C), D-81377 Munich, Germany.,Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Jörg Kussmann
- Department of Chemistry, University of Munich (LMU), Butenandtstr. 7 (C), D-81377 Munich, Germany
| | - Christian Ochsenfeld
- Department of Chemistry, University of Munich (LMU), Butenandtstr. 7 (C), D-81377 Munich, Germany
| | - Qiang Cui
- Departments of Chemistry, Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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36
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Nurhuda M, Perry CC, Addicoat MA. Performance of GFN1-xTB for periodic optimization of Metal Organic Frameworks. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:10906-10914. [DOI: 10.1039/d2cp00184e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Tight-binding approaches bridge the gap between force field methods and Density Functional Theory (DFT). Density Functional Tight Binding (DFTB) has been employed for a wide range of systems containing up...
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37
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Twidale RM, Hinchliffe P, Spencer J, Mulholland AJ. Crystallography and QM/MM Simulations Identify Preferential Binding of Hydrolyzed Carbapenem and Penem Antibiotics to the L1 Metallo-β-Lactamase in the Imine Form. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:5988-5999. [PMID: 34637298 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Widespread bacterial resistance to carbapenem antibiotics is an increasing global health concern. Resistance has emerged due to carbapenem-hydrolyzing enzymes, including metallo-β-lactamases (MβLs), but despite their prevalence and clinical importance, MβL mechanisms are still not fully understood. Carbapenem hydrolysis by MβLs can yield alternative product tautomers with the potential to access different binding modes. Here, we show that a combined approach employing crystallography and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) simulations allow tautomer assignment in MβL:hydrolyzed antibiotic complexes. Molecular simulations also examine (meta)stable species of alternative protonation and tautomeric states, providing mechanistic insights into β-lactam hydrolysis. We report the crystal structure of the hydrolyzed carbapenem ertapenem bound to the L1 MβL from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and model alternative tautomeric and protonation states of both hydrolyzed ertapenem and faropenem (a related penem antibiotic), which display different binding modes with L1. We show how the structures of both complexed β-lactams are best described as the (2S)-imine tautomer with the carboxylate formed after β-lactam ring cleavage deprotonated. Simulations show that enamine tautomer complexes are significantly less stable (e.g., showing partial loss of interactions with the L1 binuclear zinc center) and not consistent with experimental data. Strong interactions of Tyr32 and one zinc ion (Zn1) with ertapenem prevent a C6 group rotation, explaining the different binding modes of the two β-lactams. Our findings establish the relative stability of different hydrolyzed (carba)penem forms in the L1 active site and identify interactions important to stable complex formation, information that should assist inhibitor design for this important antibiotic resistance determinant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M Twidale
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K
| | - Philip Hinchliffe
- School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K
| | - James Spencer
- School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K
| | - Adrian J Mulholland
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K
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38
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Belić J, Förster A, Menzel JP, Buda F, Visscher L. Automated assessment of redox potentials for dyes in dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 24:197-210. [PMID: 34878470 PMCID: PMC8694061 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp04218a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Sustainable solutions for hydrogen production, such as dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells (DS-PEC), rely on the fundamental properties of its components whose modularity allows for their separate investigation. In this work, we design and execute a high-throughput scheme to tune the ground state oxidation potential (GSOP) of perylene-type dyes by functionalizing them with different ligands. This allows us to identify promising candidates which can then be used to improve the cell's efficiency. First, we investigate the accuracy of different theoretical approaches by benchmarking them against experimentally determined GSOPs. We test different methods to calculate the vertical oxidation potential, including GW with different levels of self-consistency, Kohn-Sham (KS) orbital energies and total energy differences. We find that there is little difference in the performance of these methods. However, we show that it is crucial to take into account solvent effects as well as the structural relaxation of the dye after oxidation. Other thermodynamic contributions are negligible. Based on this benchmark, we decide on an optimal strategy, balancing computational cost and accuracy, to screen more than 1000 dyes and identify promising candidates which could be used to construct more robust DS-PECs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelena Belić
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1083, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Arno Förster
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1083, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Jan Paul Menzel
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, P.O. Box 9502, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Francesco Buda
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, P.O. Box 9502, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Lucas Visscher
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1083, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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39
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Yang Z, Twidale RM, Gervasoni S, Suardíaz R, Colenso CK, Lang EJM, Spencer J, Mulholland AJ. Multiscale Workflow for Modeling Ligand Complexes of Zinc Metalloproteins. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:5658-5672. [PMID: 34748329 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c01109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Zinc metalloproteins are ubiquitous, with protein zinc centers of structural and functional importance, involved in interactions with ligands and substrates and often of pharmacological interest. Biomolecular simulations are increasingly prominent in investigations of protein structure, dynamics, ligand interactions, and catalysis, but zinc poses a particular challenge, in part because of its versatile, flexible coordination. A computational workflow generating reliable models of ligand complexes of biological zinc centers would find broad application. Here, we evaluate the ability of alternative treatments, using (nonbonded) molecular mechanics (MM) and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) at semiempirical (DFTB3) and density functional theory (DFT) levels of theory, to describe the zinc centers of ligand complexes of six metalloenzyme systems differing in coordination geometries, zinc stoichiometries (mono- and dinuclear), and the nature of interacting groups (specifically the presence of zinc-sulfur interactions). MM molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can overfavor octahedral geometries, introducing additional water molecules to the zinc coordination shell, but this can be rectified by subsequent semiempirical (DFTB3) QM/MM MD simulations. B3LYP/MM geometry optimization further improved the accuracy of the description of coordination distances, with the overall effectiveness of the approach depending upon factors, including the presence of zinc-sulfur interactions that are less well described by semiempirical methods. We describe a workflow comprising QM/MM MD using DFTB3 followed by QM/MM geometry optimization using DFT (e.g., B3LYP) that well describes our set of zinc metalloenzyme complexes and is likely to be suitable for creating accurate models of zinc protein complexes when structural information is more limited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zongfan Yang
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TH, U.K.,School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K
| | - Rebecca M Twidale
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TH, U.K
| | - Silvia Gervasoni
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TH, U.K.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, Via Mangiagalli, 25, I-20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Reynier Suardíaz
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TH, U.K
| | - Charlotte K Colenso
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TH, U.K.,School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K
| | - Eric J M Lang
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TH, U.K
| | - James Spencer
- School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, U.K
| | - Adrian J Mulholland
- Centre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TH, U.K
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40
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Leininger SE, Rodriguez J, Vu QV, Jiang Y, Li MS, Deutsch C, O'Brien EP. Ribosome Elongation Kinetics of Consecutively Charged Residues Are Coupled to Electrostatic Force. Biochemistry 2021; 60:3223-3235. [PMID: 34652913 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The speed of protein synthesis can dramatically change when consecutively charged residues are incorporated into an elongating nascent protein by the ribosome. The molecular origins of this class of allosteric coupling remain unknown. We demonstrate, using multiscale simulations, that positively charged residues generate large forces that move the P-site amino acid away from the A-site amino acid. Negatively charged residues generate forces of similar magnitude but move the A- and P-sites closer together. These conformational changes, respectively, increase and decrease the transition state barrier height to peptide bond formation, explaining how charged residues mechanochemically alter translation speed. This mechanochemical mechanism is consistent with in vivo ribosome profiling data exhibiting proportionality between translation speed and the number of charged residues, experimental data characterizing nascent chain conformations, and a previously published cryo-EM structure of a ribosome-nascent chain complex containing consecutive lysines. These results expand the role of mechanochemistry in translation and provide a framework for interpreting experimental results on translation speed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Leininger
- Department of Chemistry, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Judith Rodriguez
- Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate Program, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Quyen V Vu
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw 02-668, Poland
| | - Yang Jiang
- Department of Chemistry, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Mai Suan Li
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw 02-668, Poland.,Institute for Computational Sciences and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
| | - Carol Deutsch
- Department of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Edward P O'Brien
- Department of Chemistry, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.,Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate Program, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.,Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
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41
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Zlobin A, Diankin I, Pushkarev S, Golovin A. Probing the Suitability of Different Ca 2+ Parameters for Long Simulations of Diisopropyl Fluorophosphatase. Molecules 2021; 26:5839. [PMID: 34641383 PMCID: PMC8510429 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26195839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Organophosphate hydrolases are promising as potential biotherapeutic agents to treat poisoning with pesticides or nerve gases. However, these enzymes often need to be further engineered in order to become useful in practice. One example of such enhancement is the alteration of enantioselectivity of diisopropyl fluorophosphatase (DFPase). Molecular modeling techniques offer a unique opportunity to address this task rationally by providing a physical description of the substrate-binding process. However, DFPase is a metalloenzyme, and correct modeling of metal cations is a challenging task generally coming with a tradeoff between simulation speed and accuracy. Here, we probe several molecular mechanical parameter combinations for their ability to empower long simulations needed to achieve a quantitative description of substrate binding. We demonstrate that a combination of the Amber19sb force field with the recently developed 12-6 Ca2+ models allows us to both correctly model DFPase and obtain new insights into the DFP binding process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Zlobin
- Faculty of Bioengineering, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119234 Moscow, Russia; (I.D.); (S.P.)
- Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
- Sirius University of Science and Technology, 354340 Sochi, Russia
| | - Igor Diankin
- Faculty of Bioengineering, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119234 Moscow, Russia; (I.D.); (S.P.)
- Sirius University of Science and Technology, 354340 Sochi, Russia
| | - Sergey Pushkarev
- Faculty of Bioengineering, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119234 Moscow, Russia; (I.D.); (S.P.)
| | - Andrey Golovin
- Faculty of Bioengineering, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119234 Moscow, Russia; (I.D.); (S.P.)
- Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
- Sirius University of Science and Technology, 354340 Sochi, Russia
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42
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Kirchhoff B, Jónsson EÖ, Dohn AO, Jacob T, Jónsson H. Elastic Collision Based Dynamic Partitioning Scheme for Hybrid Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:5863-5875. [PMID: 34460258 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In hybrid simulations, such as the QM/MM approach, the system is partitioned into regions that are treated at different levels of theory. The key question then becomes how to evaluate the interactions between particles on opposite sides of the boundary. One approach is to place the boundary in such a way that particles near the boundary on both sides are of the same type, thus simplifying the evaluation of the interactions. If mobile particles are present, such as solvent molecules, and particles are allowed to cross the boundary, the conservation of energy and atomic forces is problematic unless the computational effort is increased significantly. By preventing particles from crossing the boundary but allowing the boundary to be flexible, an accurate estimate of average thermodynamic properties is obtained in principle as illustrated by the flexible inner region ensemble separator (FIRES) method [C. Rowley and B. Roux, J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2012, 8, 3526]. In FIRES, a harmonic restraint is applied to particles near the boundary. Therefore, it can occur that particle cross the boundary to some extent resulting in anomalies in the particle density. Here, a constraint approach is presented where particles instantaneously scatter from the boundary. This scattering-adapted FIRES (SAFIRES) implementation makes use of a variable-time-step propagation algorithm where the time step is scaled automatically to identify the moment a collision should occur. If the length of the time step is kept constant, this propagator reduces to a regular Langevin dynamics algorithm, and to the velocity Verlet algorithm for conservative dynamics if the friction coefficient is set to zero. Correct average ensemble statistics are obtained as demonstrated in simulations where, for testing purposes, the particles in the two regions are treated at the same level of theory, namely, a homogeneous Lennard-Jones (LJ) liquid and liquid water based on the TIP4P potential function. In order to illustrate this approach in solid-liquid interface simulations, a LJ liquid in contact with the surface of a crystal is also simulated. The simulations using SAFIRES are shown to reproduce the unconstrained reference simulations without significant deviations in the particle density and the dynamics are shown to conserve energy when coupling to the heat bath is turned off.
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Affiliation(s)
- Björn Kirchhoff
- Science Institute and Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Iceland, VR-III, 107 Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Elvar Örn Jónsson
- Science Institute and Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Iceland, VR-III, 107 Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Asmus Ougaard Dohn
- Science Institute and Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Iceland, VR-III, 107 Reykjavík, Iceland.,Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Timo Jacob
- Institute of Electrochemistry, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany.,Helmholtz-Institute Ulm (HIU) Electrochemical Energy Storage, Helmholtz-Straße 16, 89081 Ulm, Germany.,Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Hannes Jónsson
- Science Institute and Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Iceland, VR-III, 107 Reykjavík, Iceland
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43
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Hermes ED, Sargsyan K, Najm HN, Zádor J. Geometry optimization speedup through a geodesic approach to internal coordinates. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:094105. [PMID: 34496590 DOI: 10.1063/5.0060146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We present a new geodesic-based method for geometry optimization in a basis set of redundant internal coordinates. Our method updates the molecular geometry by following the geodesic generated by a displacement vector on the internal coordinate manifold, which dramatically reduces the number of steps required to converge to a minimum. Our method can be implemented in any existing optimization code, requiring only implementation of derivatives of the Wilson B-matrix and the ability to numerically solve an ordinary differential equation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric D Hermes
- Combustion Research Facility, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94551-0969, USA
| | - Khachik Sargsyan
- Combustion Research Facility, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94551-0969, USA
| | - Habib N Najm
- Combustion Research Facility, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94551-0969, USA
| | - Judit Zádor
- Combustion Research Facility, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94551-0969, USA
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44
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Han X, Chen W, Su R, Tian Y, Liu P, Guan P, Luo M, Han J, Cao X, Pan M, Chen M. Visualizing the {110} surface structure of equilibrium-form ZIF-8 crystals by low-dose Cs-corrected TEM. NANOSCALE 2021; 13:13215-13219. [PMID: 34477728 DOI: 10.1039/d1nr03829j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The properties of zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) crystals highly depend on the structures of the low-energy surfaces, such as {110} of ZIF-8. However, the atomic/molecular configurations of the ZIF-8 {110} surfaces remain debated. In this study, the near-atomic-scale characterization of {110} surfaces of ZIF-8 is conducted by low-dose aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The real-space images with mitigated surface delocalization by minimized spherical aberration of TEM, together with the solvent corrected surface energy calculations, demonstrate that the {110} surfaces of ZIF-8 crystals with an equilibrium-form rhombic morphology have a zigzag-type termination. This study provides experimental evidence to clarify the debated structure of {110} ZIF-8 surfaces and has important implications in understanding the crystal growth and surface related properties of ZIF-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaocang Han
- State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
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45
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The UV Effect on the Chemiresistive Response of ZnO Nanostructures to Isopropanol and Benzene at PPM Concentrations in Mixture with Dry and Wet Air. CHEMOSENSORS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/chemosensors9070181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Towards the development of low-power miniature gas detectors, there is a high interest in the research of light-activated metal oxide gas sensors capable to operate at room temperature (RT). Herein, we study ZnO nanostructures grown by the electrochemical deposition method over Si/SiO2 substrates equipped by multiple Pt electrodes to serve as on-chip gas monitors and thoroughly estimate its chemiresistive performance upon exposing to two model VOCs, isopropanol and benzene, in a wide operating temperature range, from RT to 350 °C, and LED-powered UV illumination, 380 nm wavelength; the dry air and humid-enriched, 50 rel. %, air are employed as a background. We show that the UV activation allows one to get a distinctive chemiresistive signal of the ZnO sensor to isopropanol at RT regardless of the interfering presence of H2O vapors. On the contrary, the benzene vapors do not react with UV-illuminated ZnO at RT under dry air while the humidity’s appearance gives an opportunity to detect this gas. Still, both VOCs are well detected by the ZnO sensor under heating at a 200–350 °C range independently on additional UV exciting. We employ quantum chemical calculations to explain the differences between these two VOCs’ interactions with ZnO surface by a remarkable distinction of the binding energies characterizing single molecules, which is −0.44 eV in the case of isopropanol and −3.67 eV in the case of benzene. The full covering of a ZnO supercell by H2O molecules taken for the effect’s estimation shifts the binding energies to −0.50 eV and −0.72 eV, respectively. This theory insight supports the experimental observation that benzene could not react with ZnO surface at RT under employed LED UV without humidity’s presence, indifference to isopropanol.
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46
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Jiang Y, O'Brien EP. Mechanical Forces Have a Range of Effects on the Rate of Ribosome Catalyzed Peptidyl Transfer Depending on Direction. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:7128-7136. [PMID: 34166592 PMCID: PMC8291131 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c02263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Mechanical forces acting on the nascent chain residue located at the P-site of the ribosome can influence codon translation rates. Most observations to date involve force vectors aligned collinear with the long axis of the ribosome exit tunnel. What is poorly understood is how force applied in other directions will impact the rate of peptide bond formation catalyzed by the ribosome. Here, we utilize quantum mechanical/molecular mechanics simulations to estimate the changes in the activation free energy as a consequence of applying a constant force in various directions on the C-terminal residue at the P-site. Qualitatively consistent with the Bell model, we find this force can either accelerate, decelerate, or not alter the reaction rate depending on the force direction. A force in the average direction between the P-site 3' O-C ester bond that breaks and the peptide bond that forms accelerates the reaction. A force in the opposite direction slows down the reaction as it opposes these bonds breaking and forming, but surprisingly it does not do so to the maximum extent possible. In this case, there is a counterbalancing trend; the force in this direction brings the A-site amino nitrogen and the P-site tRNA A76 3' oxygen groups closer together, which promotes one of the proton shuttling steps of the reaction. We find the maximum force-induced slowdown occurs 37° off this axis. If force is applied in orthogonal directions to the reaction coordinates, there is no significant change in the reaction speed. These results indicate that there is a richer set of scenarios of force effects on translation speed that have yet to be experimentally explored and raise the possibility that cells could use these mechanochemical effects to modulate and regulate protein synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Jiang
- Department of Chemistry, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Edward P O'Brien
- Department of Chemistry, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
- Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate Program, The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
- Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
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47
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Douglas-Gallardo OA, Box CL, Maurer RJ. Plasmonic enhancement of molecular hydrogen dissociation on metallic magnesium nanoclusters. NANOSCALE 2021; 13:11058-11068. [PMID: 34152348 DOI: 10.1039/d1nr02033a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Light-driven plasmonic enhancement of chemical reactions on metal catalysts is a promising strategy to achieve highly selective and efficient chemical transformations. The study of plasmonic catalyst materials has traditionally focused on late transition metals such as Au, Ag, and Cu. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the plasmonic properties of a set of earth-abundant elements such as Mg, which exhibit interesting hydrogenation chemistry with potential applications in hydrogen storage. This work explores the optical, electronic, and catalytic properties of a set of metallic Mg nanoclusters with up to 2057 atoms using time-dependent density functional tight-binding and density functional theory calculations. Our results show that Mg nanoclusters are able to produce highly energetic hot electrons with energies of up to 4 eV. By electronic structure analysis, we find that these hot electrons energetically align with electronic states of physisorbed molecular hydrogen, occupation of which by hot electrons can promote the hydrogen dissociation reaction. We also find that the reverse reaction, hydrogen evolution on metallic Mg, can potentially be promoted by hot electrons, but following a different mechanism. Thus, from a theoretical perspective, Mg nanoclusters display very promising behaviour for their use in light promoted storage and release of hydrogen.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Connor L Box
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
| | - Reinhard J Maurer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
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48
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Ehlert S, Stahn M, Spicher S, Grimme S. Robust and Efficient Implicit Solvation Model for Fast Semiempirical Methods. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:4250-4261. [PMID: 34185531 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 52.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
We present a robust and efficient method to implicitly account for solvation effects in modern semiempirical quantum mechanics and force fields. A computationally efficient yet accurate solvation model based on the analytical linearized Poisson-Boltzmann (ALPB) model is parameterized for the extended tight binding (xTB) and density functional tight binding (DFTB) methods as well as for the recently proposed GFN-FF general force field. The proposed methods perform well over a broad range of systems and applications, from conformational energies over transition-metal complexes to large supramolecular association reactions of charged species. For hydration free energies of small molecules, GFN1-xTB(ALPB) is reaching the accuracy of sophisticated explicitly solvated approaches, with a mean absolute deviation of only 1.4 kcal/mol compared to the experiment. Logarithmic octanol-water partition coefficients (log Kow) are computed with a mean absolute deviation of about 0.65 using GFN2-xTB(ALPB) compared to experimental values indicating a consistent description of differential solvent effects. Overall, more than twenty solvents for each of the six semiempirical methods are parameterized and tested. They are readily available in the xtb and dftb+ programs for diverse computational applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Ehlert
- Mulliken Center of Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn, Bonn 53115, Germany
| | - Marcel Stahn
- Mulliken Center of Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn, Bonn 53115, Germany
| | - Sebastian Spicher
- Mulliken Center of Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn, Bonn 53115, Germany
| | - Stefan Grimme
- Mulliken Center of Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn, Bonn 53115, Germany
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49
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50
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Karimova NV, Alves MR, Luo M, Grassian VH, Gerber RB. Toward a microscopic model of light absorbing dissolved organic compounds in aqueous environments: theoretical and experimental study. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:10487-10497. [PMID: 33899856 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp06554d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Water systems often contain complex macromolecular systems that absorb light. In marine environments, these light absorbing components are often at the air-water interface and can participate in the chemistry of the atmosphere in ways that are poorly understood. Understanding the photochemistry and photophysics of these systems represents a major challenge since their composition and structures are not unique. In this study, we present a successful microscopic model of this light absorbing macromolecular species termed "marine derived chromophoric dissolved organic matter" or "m-CDOM" in water. The approach taken involves molecular dynamics simulations in the ground state using on the fly Density Functional Tight-Binding (DFTB) electronic structure theory; Time Dependent DFTB (TD-DFTB) calculations of excited states, and experimental measurements of the optical absorption spectra in aqueous solution. The theoretical hydrated model shows key features seen in the experimental data for a collected m-CDOM sample. As will be discussed, insights from the model are: (i) the low-energy A-band (at 410 nm) is due to the carbon chains combined with the diol- and the oxy-groups present in the structure; (ii) the weak B-band (at 320-360 nm) appears due to the contribution of the ionized speciated form of m-CDOM; and (iii) the higher-energy C-band (at 280 nm) is due to the two fused ring system. Thus, this is a two-speciated formed model. Although a relatively simple system, these calculations represent an important step in understanding light absorbing compounds found in nature and the search for other microscopic models of related materials remains of major interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia V Karimova
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
| | - Michael R Alves
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA.
| | - Man Luo
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA.
| | - Vicki H Grassian
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA. and Department of Nanoengineering and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| | - R Benny Gerber
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. and Institute of Chemistry and Fritz Haber Research Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
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