1
|
Walsh MR. Comparing brute force to transition path sampling for gas hydrate nucleation with a flat interface: comments on time reversal symmetry. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:5762-5772. [PMID: 38214888 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp05059a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Fluid to solid nucleation is often investigated with the rare event method transition path sampling (TPS). I claim that the inherent irreversibility of solid nucleation, even at stationary conditions, calls into question TPS's applicability for determining solid nucleation mechanisms, especially for pre-critical behavior. Even when applied to a phenomenon which displays time reversal asymmetry like solid nucleation, TPS is a good means of exploring phase space and giving trends in post-critical structure, and its ability to facilitate nucleation rate and free energy calculations remains outstanding. Forward-only splitting and ratcheting methods such as forward flux sampling are more attractive for understanding nucleation mechanisms as they do not require time reversal symmetry, but at low driving forces may suffer from the same limitations as brute force: they may never make it to the first ratchet. Here I briefly summarize the TPS method and gas hydrate nucleation simulation literature, focusing on topics within both to facilitate a comparison of brute force hydrate nucleation to transition path sampling of hydrate nucleation. Perhaps anecdotally, the brute force technique results in more crystalline trajectories despite having higher driving forces than TPS. I maintain this difference is because of the inherent irreversibility of hydrate nucleation, meaning its pre-critical behavior cannot accurately be determined by the melting trajectories that comprise approximately half of the configurations in TPS's path ensemble.
Collapse
|
2
|
Sun Z, He Q, Gong Z, Kalhor P, Huai Z, Liu Z. A General Picture of Cucurbit[8]uril Host–Guest Binding: Recalibrating Bonded Interactions. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28073124. [PMID: 37049887 PMCID: PMC10095826 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28073124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Atomic-level understanding of the dynamic feature of host–guest interactions remains a central challenge in supramolecular chemistry. The remarkable guest binding behavior of the Cucurbiturils family of supramolecular containers makes them promising drug carriers. Among Cucurbit[n]urils, Cucurbit[8]uril (CB8) has an intermediate portal size and cavity volume. It can exploit almost all host–guest recognition motifs formed by this host family. In our previous work, an extensive computational investigation of the binding of seven commonly abused and structurally diverse drugs to the CB8 host was performed, and a general dynamic binding picture of CB8-guest interactions was obtained. Further, two widely used fixed-charge models for drug-like molecules were investigated and compared in great detail, aiming at providing guidelines in choosing an appropriate charge scheme in host-guest modelling. Iterative refitting of atomic charges leads to improved binding thermodynamics and the best root-mean-squared deviation from the experimental reference is 2.6 kcal/mol. In this work, we focus on a thorough evaluation of the remaining parts of classical force fields, i.e., the bonded interactions. The widely used general Amber force fields are assessed and refitted with generalized force-matching to improve the intra-molecular conformational preference, and thus the description of inter-molecular host–guest interactions. The interaction pattern and binding thermodynamics show a significant dependence on the modelling parameters. The refitted system-specific parameter set improves the consistency of the modelling results and the experimental reference significantly. Finally, combining the previous charge-scheme comparison and the current force-field refitting, we provide general guidelines for the theoretical modelling of host–guest binding.
Collapse
|
3
|
Sun Z, Zheng L, Zhang ZY, Cong Y, Wang M, Wang X, Yang J, Liu Z, Huai Z. Molecular Modelling of Ionic Liquids: Situations When Charge Scaling Seems Insufficient. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 28:molecules28020800. [PMID: 36677859 PMCID: PMC9865557 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28020800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Charge scaling as an effective solution to the experiment-computation disagreement in molecular modelling of ionic liquids (ILs) could bring the computational results close to the experimental reference for various thermodynamic properties. According to the large-scale benchmark calculations of mass density, solvation, and water-ILs transfer-free energies in our series of papers, the charge-scaling factor of 0.8 serves as a near-optimal option generally applicable to most ILs, although a system-dependent parameter adjustment could be attempted for further improved performance. However, there are situations in which such a charge-scaling treatment would fail. Namely, charge scaling cannot really affect the simulation outcome, or minimally perturbs the results that are still far from the experimental value. In such situations, the vdW radius as an additional adjustable parameter is commonly tuned to minimize the experiment-calculation deviation. In the current work, considering two ILs from the quinuclidinium family, we investigate the impacts of this vdW-scaling treatment on the mass density and the solvation/partition thermodynamics in a fashion similar to our previous charge-scaling works, i.e., scanning the vdW-scaling factor and computing physical properties under these parameter sets. It is observed that the mass density exhibits a linear response to the vdW-scaling factor with slopes close to -1.8 g/mL. By further investigating a set of physiochemically relevant temperatures between 288 K and 348 K, we confirm the robustness of the vdW-scaling treatment in the estimation of bulk properties. The best vdW-scaling parameter for mass density would worsen the computation of solvation/partition thermodynamics, and a marginal decrease in the vdW-scaling factor is considered as an intermediate option balancing the reproductions of bulk properties and solvation thermodynamics. These observations could be understood in a way similar to the charge-scaling situation. i.e., overfitting some properties (e.g., mass density) would degrade the accuracy of the other properties (e.g., solvation free energies). Following this principle, the general guideline for applying this vdW-tuning protocol is by using values between the density-derived choice and the solvation/partition-derived solution. The charge and current vdW scaling treatments cover commonly encountered ILs, completing the protocol for accurate modelling of ILs with fixed-charge force fields.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoxi Sun
- College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Correspondence: (Z.S.); (X.W.); (Z.H.)
| | - Lei Zheng
- NYU-ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai 200062, China
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Zuo-Yuan Zhang
- College of Physical Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
| | - Yalong Cong
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Mao Wang
- NCS Testing Technology Co., Ltd., No. 13, Gaoliangqiao Xiejie, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Xiaohui Wang
- College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Beijing Leto Laboratories Co., Ltd., Beijing 100083, China
- Correspondence: (Z.S.); (X.W.); (Z.H.)
| | - Jingjing Yang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Zhirong Liu
- College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Zhe Huai
- XtalPi-AI Research Center, 7F, Tower A, Dongsheng Building, No.8, Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing 100083, China
- Correspondence: (Z.S.); (X.W.); (Z.H.)
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Surís-Valls R, Hogervorst TP, Schoenmakers SMC, Hendrix MMRM, Milroy L, Voets IK. Inhibition of Ice Recrystallization by Nanotube-Forming Cyclic Peptides. Biomacromolecules 2022; 23:520-529. [PMID: 35045706 PMCID: PMC8848283 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.1c01267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
While most native ice-binding proteins are rigid, artificial (macro)molecular ice-binders are usually flexible. Realizing a regular array with precisely positioned ice-binding motifs on synthetic proteins, (macro)molecular ice-binders are thus challenging. Here, we exploit the predictable assembly of cyclic peptides into nanotubes as a starting point to prepare large, rigid ice-binders bearing an ice-binding site that is found in hyperactive ice-binding proteins in insects. First, we designed, synthesized, and purified cyclic octapeptide Lys2CP8 bearing a TaT motif to promote ice binding and investigated their solution assembly and activity using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, light scattering (LS), cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), and ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI) assays. The cyclic peptide Lys2CP8 was synthesized in good yield using Fmoc chemistry and purified by reversed-phase HPLC. Upon dissolution in aqueous solutions, Lys2CP8 was observed to assemble in a pH- and concentration-dependent manner into objects with nanoscopic dimensions. LS revealed the presence of small and large aggregates at pH 3 and 11, held together through a network of intermolecular antiparallel β-sheets as determined by FTIR and CD spectroscopy. Cryo-TEM revealed the presence of one-dimensional objects at pH 3 and 11. These are mostly well-dispersed at pH 3 but appear to bundle at pH 11. Interestingly, the pH-dependent self-assembly behavior translates into a marked pH dependence of IRI activity. Lys2CP8 is IRI-active at pH 3 while inactive at pH 11 hypothetically because the ice-binding sites are inaccessible at pH 11 due to bundling.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Romà Surís-Valls
- Laboratory of Self-Organizing Soft Matter, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.,Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.,Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Tim P Hogervorst
- Laboratory of Self-Organizing Soft Matter, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.,Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Sandra M C Schoenmakers
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Marco M R M Hendrix
- Laboratory of Self-Organizing Soft Matter, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.,Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Lech Milroy
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Ilja K Voets
- Laboratory of Self-Organizing Soft Matter, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.,Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
|
6
|
Huai Z, Yang H, Sun Z. Binding thermodynamics and interaction patterns of human purine nucleoside phosphorylase-inhibitor complexes from extensive free energy calculations. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2021; 35:643-656. [PMID: 33759016 DOI: 10.1007/s10822-021-00382-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 03/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Human purine nucleoside phosphorylase (hPNP) plays a significant role in the catabolism of deoxyguanosine. The trimeric protein is an important target in the treatment of T-cell cancers and autoimmune disorders. Experimental studies on the inhibition of the hPNP observe that the first ligand bound to one of three subunits effectively inhibits the protein, while the binding of more ligands to the subsequent sites shows negative cooperativities. In this work, we performed extensive end-point and alchemical free energy calculations to determine the binding thermodynamics of the trimeric protein-ligand system. 13 Immucillin inhibitors with experimental results are under calculation. Two widely accepted charge schemes for small molecules including AM1-BCC and RESP are adopted for ligands. The results of RESP are in better agreement with the experimental reference. Further investigations of the interaction networks in the protein-ligand complexes reveal that several residues play significant roles in stabilizing the complex structure. The most commonly observed ones include PHE200, GLU201, MET219, and ASN243. The conformations of the protein in different protein-ligand complexes are observed to be similar. We expect these insights to aid the development of potent drugs targeting hPNP.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Huai
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Huaiyu Yang
- College of Engineering, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China
| | - Zhaoxi Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Huai Z, Shen Z, Sun Z. Binding Thermodynamics and Interaction Patterns of Inhibitor-Major Urinary Protein-I Binding from Extensive Free-Energy Calculations: Benchmarking AMBER Force Fields. J Chem Inf Model 2020; 61:284-297. [PMID: 33307679 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c01217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Mouse major urinary protein (MUP) plays a key role in the pheromone communication system. The one-end-closed β-barrel of MUP-I forms a small, deep, and hydrophobic central cavity, which could accommodate structurally diverse ligands. Previous computational studies employed old protein force fields and short simulation times to determine the binding thermodynamics or investigated only a small number of structurally similar ligands, which resulted in sampled regions far from the experimental structure, nonconverged sampling outcomes, and limited understanding of the possible interaction patterns that the cavity could produce. In this work, extensive end-point and alchemical free-energy calculations with advanced protein force fields were performed to determine the binding thermodynamics of a series of MUP-inhibitor systems and investigate the inter- and intramolecular interaction patterns. Three series of inhibitors with a total of 14 ligands were simulated. We independently simulated the MUP-inhibitor complexes under two advanced AMBER force fields. Our benchmark test showed that the advanced AMBER force fields including AMBER19SB and AMBER14SB provided better descriptions of the system, and the backbone root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) was significantly lowered compared with previous computational studies with old protein force fields. Surprisingly, although the latest AMBER force field AMBER19SB provided better descriptions of various observables, it neither improved the binding thermodynamics nor lowered the backbone RMSD compared with the previously proposed and widely used AMBER14SB. The older but widely used AMBER14SB actually achieved better performance in the prediction of binding affinities from the alchemical and end-point free-energy calculations. We further analyzed the protein-ligand interaction networks to identify important residues stabilizing the bound structure. Six residues including PHE38, LEU40, PHE90, ALA103, LEU105, and TYR120 were found to contribute the most significant part of protein-ligand interactions, and 10 residues were found to provide favorable interactions stabilizing the bound state. The two AMBER force fields gave extremely similar interaction networks, and the secondary structures also showed similar behavior. Thus, the intra- and intermolecular interaction networks described with the two AMBER force fields are similar. Therefore, AMBER14SB could still be the default option in free-energy calculations to achieve highly accurate binding thermodynamics and interaction patterns.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Huai
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Zhaoxi Shen
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau 999078, China
| | - Zhaoxi Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Maity S, Ottelé J, Santiago GM, Frederix PWJM, Kroon P, Markovitch O, Stuart MCA, Marrink SJ, Otto S, Roos WH. Caught in the Act: Mechanistic Insight into Supramolecular Polymerization-Driven Self-Replication from Real-Time Visualization. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:13709-13717. [PMID: 32786814 PMCID: PMC7426903 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c02635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Self-assembly features
prominently in fields ranging from materials
science to biophysical chemistry. Assembly pathways, often passing
through transient intermediates, can control the outcome of assembly
processes. Yet, the mechanisms of self-assembly remain largely obscure
due to a lack of experimental tools for probing these pathways at
the molecular level. Here, the self-assembly of self-replicators into
fibers is visualized in real-time by high-speed atomic force microscopy
(HS-AFM). Fiber growth requires the conversion of precursor molecules
into six-membered macrocycles, which constitute the fibers. HS-AFM
experiments, supported by molecular dynamics simulations, revealed
that aggregates of precursor molecules accumulate at the sides of
the fibers, which then diffuse to the fiber ends where growth takes
place. This mechanism of precursor reservoir formation, followed by
one-dimensional diffusion, which guides the precursor molecules to
the sites of growth, reduces the entropic penalty associated with
colocalizing precursors and growth sites and constitutes a new mechanism
for supramolecular polymerization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sourav Maity
- Molecular Biophysics, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Jim Ottelé
- Centre for Systems Chemistry, Stratingh Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Guillermo Monreal Santiago
- Centre for Systems Chemistry, Stratingh Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Pim W J M Frederix
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Kroon
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Omer Markovitch
- Centre for Systems Chemistry, Stratingh Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands.,Origins Center, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Marc C A Stuart
- Centre for Systems Chemistry, Stratingh Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Siewert J Marrink
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Sijbren Otto
- Centre for Systems Chemistry, Stratingh Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter H Roos
- Molecular Biophysics, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Brotzakis ZF, Bolhuis PG. Approximating free energy and committor landscapes in standard transition path sampling using virtual interface exchange. J Chem Phys 2019; 151:174111. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5119252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Z. Faidon Brotzakis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Peter G. Bolhuis
- Van’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94157, 1090 GD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Surís-Valls R, Voets IK. Peptidic Antifreeze Materials: Prospects and Challenges. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:E5149. [PMID: 31627404 PMCID: PMC6834126 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20205149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2019] [Revised: 10/05/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Necessitated by the subzero temperatures and seasonal exposure to ice, various organisms have developed a remarkably effective means to survive the harsh climate of their natural habitats. Their ice-binding (glyco)proteins keep the nucleation and growth of ice crystals in check by recognizing and binding to specific ice crystal faces, which arrests further ice growth and inhibits ice recrystallization (IRI). Inspired by the success of this adaptive strategy, various approaches have been proposed over the past decades to engineer materials that harness these cryoprotective features. In this review we discuss the prospects and challenges associated with these advances focusing in particular on peptidic antifreeze materials both identical and akin to natural ice-binding proteins (IBPs). We address the latest advances in their design, synthesis, characterization and application in preservation of biologics and foods. Particular attention is devoted to insights in structure-activity relations culminating in the synthesis of de novo peptide analogues. These are sequences that resemble but are not identical to naturally occurring IBPs. We also draw attention to impactful developments in solid-phase peptide synthesis and 'greener' synthesis routes, which may aid to overcome one of the major bottlenecks in the translation of this technology: unavailability of large quantities of low-cost antifreeze materials with excellent IRI activity at (sub)micromolar concentrations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Romà Surís-Valls
- Laboratory of Self-Organizing Soft Matter, Laboratory of Macro-Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Post Office Box 513, 5600 MD Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
| | - Ilja K Voets
- Laboratory of Self-Organizing Soft Matter, Laboratory of Macro-Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Post Office Box 513, 5600 MD Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Frederix PWJM, Patmanidis I, Marrink SJ. Molecular simulations of self-assembling bio-inspired supramolecular systems and their connection to experiments. Chem Soc Rev 2018; 47:3470-3489. [PMID: 29688238 PMCID: PMC5961611 DOI: 10.1039/c8cs00040a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
In bionanotechnology, the field of creating functional materials consisting of bio-inspired molecules, the function and shape of a nanostructure only appear through the assembly of many small molecules together. The large number of building blocks required to define a nanostructure combined with the many degrees of freedom in packing small molecules has long precluded molecular simulations, but recent advances in computational hardware as well as software have made classical simulations available to this strongly expanding field. Here, we review the state of the art in simulations of self-assembling bio-inspired supramolecular systems. We will first discuss progress in force fields, simulation protocols and enhanced sampling techniques using recent examples. Secondly, we will focus on efforts to enable the comparison of experimentally accessible observables and computational results. Experimental quantities that can be measured by microscopy, spectroscopy and scattering can be linked to simulation output either directly or indirectly, via quantum mechanical or semi-empirical techniques. Overall, we aim to provide an overview of the various computational approaches to understand not only the molecular architecture of nanostructures, but also the mechanism of their formation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pim W. J. M. Frederix
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute and Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials , University of Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands . ;
| | - Ilias Patmanidis
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute and Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials , University of Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands . ;
| | - Siewert J. Marrink
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute and Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials , University of Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands . ;
| |
Collapse
|