Flexibility Does Not Change the Polarizability of Water Molecules in the Liquid

A polarizable QM/MM approach to the molecular dynamics of amide groups solvated in water

The infrared (IR) spectra of polypeptides are dominated by the so-called amide bands. Because they originate from the strongly polar and polarizable amide groups (AGs) making up the backbone, their spectral positions sensitively depend on the local electric fields. Aiming at accurate computations of these IR spectra by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which derive atomic forces from a hybrid quantum and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) Hamiltonian, here we consider the effects of solvation in bulk liquid water on the amide bands of the AG model compound N-methyl-acetamide (NMA). As QM approach to NMA we choose grid-based density functional theory (DFT). For the surrounding MM water, we develop, largely based on computations, a polarizable molecular mechanics (PMM) model potential called GP6P, which features six Gaussian electrostatic sources (one induced dipole, five static partial charge distributions) and, therefore, avoids spurious distortions of the DFT electron density in hybrid DFT/PMM simulations. Bulk liquid GP6P is shown to have favorable properties at the thermodynamic conditions of the parameterization and beyond. Lennard-Jones (LJ) parameters of the DFT fragment NMA are optimized by comparing radial distribution functions in the surrounding GP6P liquid with reference data obtained from a "first-principles" DFT-MD simulation. Finally, IR spectra of NMA in GP6P water are calculated from extended DFT/PMM-MD trajectories, in which the NMA is treated by three different DFT functionals (BP, BLYP, B3LYP). Method-specific frequency scaling factors are derived from DFT-MD simulations of isolated NMA. The DFT/PMM-MD simulations with GP6P and with the optimized LJ parameters then excellently predict the effects of aqueous solvation and deuteration observed in the IR spectra of NMA. As a result, the methods required to accurately compute such spectra by DFT/PMM-MD also for larger peptides in aqueous solution are now at hand.

Young's modulus of nanoconfined liquids?

In material science, bioengineering, and biology, thin liquid films and soft matter membranes play an important role in micro-lubrication, ion transport, and fundamental biological processes. Various attempts have been made to characterize the elastic properties, such as Young's modulus, of such films using Hertz theory by incorporating convoluted mathematical corrections. We propose a simple way to extract tip-size independent elastic properties based on stiffness and force measurement through a spherical tip on a flat surface. Using our model, the Young's modulus of nanoconfined, molecularly-thin, layers of a model liquid TEHOS (tetrakis 2-ethylhexoxy silane) and water were determined using a small-amplitude AFM. This AFM can simultaneously measure the stiffness and forces of nanoscale films. While the stiffness scales linearly with the tip radius, the measured Young's modulus essentially remains constant over an order of magnitude variation in the tip radius. The values obtained for the elastic modulus of TEHOS and water films on the basis of our method are significantly lower than the confining surfaces' elastic moduli, in contrast with the uncorrected Hertz model, suggesting that our method can serve as a simple way to compare elastic properties of nanoscale thin films as well as to characterize a variety of soft films. In addition, our results show that the elastic properties (elastic modulus) of nanoconfined liquid films remain fairly independent of increasing confinement.

Polarizable six-point water models from computational and empirical optimization

Tröster et al. (J. Phys. Chem B 2013, 117, 9486-9500) recently suggested a mixed computational and empirical approach to the optimization of polarizable molecular mechanics (PMM) water models. In the empirical part the parameters of Buckingham potentials are optimized by PMM molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The computational part applies hybrid calculations, which combine the quantum mechanical description of a H2O molecule by density functional theory (DFT) with a PMM model of its liquid phase environment generated by MD. While the static dipole moments and polarizabilities of the PMM water models are fixed at the experimental gas phase values, the DFT/PMM calculations are employed to optimize the remaining electrostatic properties. These properties cover the width of a Gaussian inducible dipole positioned at the oxygen and the locations of massless negative charge points within the molecule (the positive charges are attached to the hydrogens). The authors considered the cases of one and two negative charges rendering the PMM four- and five-point models TL4P and TL5P. Here we extend their approach to three negative charges, thus suggesting the PMM six-point model TL6P. As compared to the predecessors and to other PMM models, which also exhibit partial charges at fixed positions, TL6P turned out to predict all studied properties of liquid water at p0 = 1 bar and T0 = 300 K with a remarkable accuracy. These properties cover, for instance, the diffusion constant, viscosity, isobaric heat capacity, isothermal compressibility, dielectric constant, density, and the isobaric thermal expansion coefficient. This success concurrently provides a microscopic physical explanation of corresponding shortcomings of previous models. It uniquely assigns the failures of previous models to substantial inaccuracies in the description of the higher electrostatic multipole moments of liquid phase water molecules. Resulting favorable properties concerning the transferability to other temperatures and conditions like the melting of ice are also discussed.

A systematic development of a polarizable potential of water

Based on extensive studies of existing potentials we propose a new molecular model for water. The new model is rigid and contains three Gaussian charges. Contrary to other models, all charges take part in the polarization of the molecule. They are connected by harmonic springs to their gas-phase positions: the negative charge to a prescribed point on the main axis of the molecule; the positive charges to the hydrogens. The mechanical equilibrium between the electrostatic forces and the spring forces determines the polarization of the molecule which is established by iteration at every timestep. The model gives excellent estimates for ambient liquid properties and reasonably good results from high-pressure solids to gas-phase clusters. We present a detailed description of the development of this model and a large number of calculated properties compared to the estimates of the nonpolarizable TIP4P∕2005 [J. L. F. Abascal and C. Vega, J. Chem. Phys. 123, 234505 (2005)], the polarizable GCPM [P. Paricaud, M. Predota, A. A. Chialvo, and P. T. Cummings, J. Chem. Phys. 122, 244511 (2005)], and our earlier BKd3 model [P. T. Kiss and A. Baranyai, J. Chem. Phys. 137, 084506 (2012)]. The best overall performance is shown by the new model.

The Microscopic Physical Cause for the Density Maximum of Liquid Water

The existence of a density maximum at 277 K is probably the most prominent anomaly among the many very special thermodynamic properties of liquid water. While usually attributed to so-called hydrogen bonding, the microscopic physical cause of this prominent anomaly is still elusive. Here we show that the density anomaly is caused by those short-range electrostatic forces, which are generated by the quadrupole and higher moments of the charge distributions present in liquid-phase water molecules. This conclusion derives from 20 ns replica exchange molecular-dynamics simulations with closely related polarizable four-, five-, and six-point water models. As soon as the model complexity suffices to represent the higher electrostatic moments with sufficient accuracy, the density temperature profile n(T) calculated for T ∈ [250,320] K at the standard pressure 1 bar locks in to the experimental observation. The corresponding six-point model is, therefore, the most simple available cartoon for liquid-phase water molecules.

Polarizable water models from mixed computational and empirical optimization

Here we suggest a mixed computational and empirical approach serving to optimize the parameters of complex and polarizable molecular mechanics (PMM) models for complicated liquids. The computational part of the parameter optimization relies on hybrid calculations combining density functional theory (DFT) for a solute molecule with a PMM treatment of its solvent environment at well-defined thermodynamic conditions. As an application we have developed PMM models for water featuring ν = 3, 4, and 5 points of force action, a Gaussian inducible dipole and a Buckingham potential at the oxygen, the experimental liquid phase geometry, the experimental gas phase polarizability α(exp)(g) = 1.47 ų, and, for ν = 4 and 5, the gas phase value μ(exp)(g) = 1.855 D for the static dipole moment. The widths of the Gaussian dipoles and, for ν = 4 and 5, also the electrostatic geometries of these so-called TLνP models are derived from self-consistent DFT/PMM calculations, and the parameters of the Buckingham potentials (and the static TL3P dipole moment) are estimated from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The high quality of the resulting models is demonstrated for the observables targeted during optimization (potential energy per molecule, pressure, radial distribution functions) and a series of predicted properties (quadrupole moments, density at constant pressure, dielectric constant, diffusivity, viscosity, compressibility, heat capacity) at certain standard conditions. Remaining deficiencies and possible ways for their removal are discussed.