True stabilization energies for the optimal planar hydrogen-bonded and stacked structures of guanine...cytosine, adenine...thymine, and their 9- and 1-methyl derivatives: complete basis set calculations at the MP2 and CCSD(T) levels and comparison with experiment

Planar H-bonded and stacked structures of guanine...cytosine (G.C), adenine...thymine (A...T), 9-methylguanine...1-methylcytosine (mG...mC), and 9-methyladenine...1-methylthymine (mA...mT) were optimized at the RI-MP2 level using the TZVPP ([5s3p2d1f/3s2p1d]) basis set. Planar H-bonded structures of G...C, mG...mC, and A...T correspond to the Watson-Crick (WC) arrangement, in contrast to mA...mT for which the Hoogsteen (H) structure is found. Stabilization energies for all structures were determined as the sum of the complete basis set limit of MP2 energies and a (DeltaE(CCSD(T)) - DeltaE(MP2)) correction term evaluated with the cc-pVDZ(0.25,0.15) basis set. The complete basis set limit of MP2 energies was determined by two-point extrapolation using the aug-cc-pVXZ basis sets for X = D and T and X = T and Q. This procedure is required since the convergency of the MP2 interaction energy for the present complexes is rather slow, and it is thus important to include the extrapolation to the complete basis set limit. For the MP2/aug-cc-pVQZ level of theory, stabilization energies for all complexes studied are already very close to the complete basis set limit. The much cheaper D-->T extrapolation provided a complete basis set limit close (by less than 0.7 kcal/mol) to the more accurate T-->Q term, and the D-->T extrapolation can be recommended for evaluation of complete basis set limits of more extended complexes (e.g. larger motifs of DNA). The convergency of the (DeltaE(CCSD(T)) - DeltaE(MP2)) term is known to be faster than that of the MP2 or CCSD(T) correlation energy itself, and the cc-pVDZ(0.25,0.15) basis set provides reasonable values for planar H-bonded as well as stacked structures. Inclusion of the CCSD(T) correction is essential for obtaining reliable relative values for planar H-bonding and stacking interactions; neglecting the CCSD(T) correction results in very considerable errors between 2.5 and 3.4 kcal/mol. Final stabilization energies (kcal/mol) for the base pairs studied are very substantial (A...T WC, 15.4; mA...mT H, 16.3; A...T stacked, 11.6; mA...mT stacked, 13.1; G...C WC, 28.8; mG...mC WC, 28.5; G...C stacked, 16.9; mG...mC stacked, 18.0), much larger than published previously. On the basis of comparison with experimental data, we conclude that our values represent the lower boundary of the true stabilization energies. On the basis of error analysis, we expect the present H-bonding energies to be fairly close to the true values, while stacked energies are still expected to be about 10% too low. The stacking energy for the mG...mC pair is considerably lower than the respective H-bonding energy, but it is larger than the mA...mT H-bonding energy. This conclusion could significantly change the present view on the importance of specific H-bonding interactions and nonspecific stacking interactions in nature, for instance, in DNA. Present stabilization energies for H-bonding and stacking energies represent the most accurate and reliable values and can be considered as new reference data.     

Toward true DNA base-stacking energies: MP2, CCSD(T), and complete basis set calculations

Stacking energies in low-energy geometries of pyrimidine, uracil, cytosine, and guanine homodimers were determined by the MP2 and CCSD(T) calculations utilizing a wide range of split-valence, correlation-consistent, and bond-functions basis sets. Complete basis set MP2 (CBS MP2) stacking energies extrapolated using aug-cc-pVXZ (X = D, T, and for pyrimidine dimer Q) basis sets equal to -5.3, -12.3, and -11.2 kcal/mol for the first three dimers, respectively. Higher-order correlation corrections estimated as the difference between MP2 and CCSD(T) stacking energies amount to 2.0, 0.7, and 0.9 kcal/mol and lead to final estimates of the genuine stacking energies for the three dimers of -3.4, -11.6, and -10.4 kcal/mol. The CBS MP2 stacking-energy estimate for guanine dimer (-14.8 kcal/mol) was based on the 6-31G(0.25) and aug-cc-pVDZ calculations. This simplified extrapolation can be routinely used with a meaningful accuracy around 1 kcal/mol for large aromatic stacking clusters. The final estimate of the guanine stacking energy after the CCSD(T) correction amounts to -12.9 kcal/mol. The MP2/6-31G(0.25) method previously used as the standard level to calculate aromatic stacking in hundreds of geometries of nucleobase dimers systematically underestimates the base stacking by ca. 1.0-2.5 kcal/mol per stacked dimer, covering 75-90% of the intermolecular correlation stabilization. We suggest that this correction is to be considered in calibration of force fields and other cheaper computational methods. The quality of the MP2/6-31G(0.25) predictions is nevertheless considerably better than suggested on the basis of monomer polarizability calculations. Fast and very accurate estimates of the MP2 aromatic stacking energies can be achieved using the RI-MP2 method. The CBS MP2 calculations and the CCSD(T) correction, when taken together, bring only marginal changes to the relative stability of H-bonded and stacked base pairs, with a slight shift of ca. 1 kcal/mol in favor of H-bonding. We suggest that the present values are very close to ultimate predictions of the strength of aromatic base stacking of DNA and RNA bases.     

State of the art theoretical study and comparison to experiment for the phenol...argon complex

The phenol...argon complex was studied by means of various high level ab initio quantum mechanics methods and high resolution threshold ionization spectroscopy. The structure and stabilization energy of different conformers were determined. Stabilization energy of van der Waals bonded and H-bonded PhOH...Ar complex determined at CCSD(T) complete basis set (CBS) level for CP-RI-MP2/cc-pVTZ/Ar aug-cc-pVTZ geometries amount to 434 and 285 cm(-1). The CCSD(T)/CBS were constructed either as a sum of MP2/CBS interaction energy and CCSD(T) correction term [difference between CCSD(T) and MP2 correlation energies determined with medium basis set] or directly from CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ and aug-cc-pVTZ energies. Both schemes provide very similar values. Harmonic vibrational analysis revealed that the H-bonded structure does not represent energy minimum but first order transition structure. The respective imaginary vibrational mode (16 cm(-1)) connects two possible argon locations -- above and below the phenol aromatic ring. Including the DeltaZPVE, we obtained stabilization enthalpy at 0 K of 389 cm(-1). This value is marginally higher (25-35 cm(-1), 0.07-0.10 kcal/mol) than the experimental value. The determination of DeltaZPVE constitutes the most significant error and possible improvements should come from more accurate evaluation of the (nonharmonic) vibrational frequencies.     

Hydrogen-bonded nucleic acid base pairs containing unusual base tautomers: complete basis set calculations at the MP2 and CCSD(T) levels

The total interaction energies of altogether 15 hydrogen-bonded nucleic acid base pairs containing unusual base tautomers were calculated. The geometry properties of all selected adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine hydrogen-bonded base pairs enable their incorporation into DNA. Unusual base pairing patterns were compared with Watson-Crick H-bonded structures of the adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine pairs. The complete basis set (CBS) limit of the MP2 interaction energy and the CCSD(T) correction term, determined as the difference between the CCSD(T) and MP2 interaction energies, was evaluated. Extrapolation to the MP2 CBS limit was done using the aug-cc-pVDZ and aug-cc-pVTZ results, and the CCSD(T) correction term was determined with the 6-31G*(0.25) basis set. Final interaction energies were corrected while taking into account both tautomeric penalization determined at the CBS level and solvation/desolvation free energies. The situation for the adenine-thymine pairs is straightforward, and tautomeric pairs are significantly less stable than the Watson-Crick pair consisting of the canonical forms. In the case of the guanine-cytosine pair, the Watson-Crick structure made by canonical forms is again the most stable. The other two structures are, however, energetically rather similar (by 5 and 6 kcal/mol), which provides a very small but non-negligible chance of detecting these structures in the DNA double helix (1:5000). Due to the fact that DNA bases and base pairs incorporated into DNA are solvated less favorably than in isolated systems, this probability represents the very upper limit. The results clearly show how precisely the canonical building blocks of DNA molecules were chosen and how well their stability is maintained.     

Probing phenylalanine/adenine pi-stacking interactions in protein complexes with explicitly correlated and CCSD(T) computations

To examine the effects of pi-stacking interactions between aromatic amino acid side chains and adenine bearing ligands in crystalline protein structures, 26 toluene/(N9-methyl)adenine model configurations have been constructed from protein/ligand crystal structures. Full geometry optimizations with the MP2 method cause the 26 crystal structures to collapse to six unique structures. The complete basis set (CBS) limit of the CCSD(T) interaction energies has been determined for all 32 structures by combining explicitly correlated MP2-R12 computations with a correction for higher-order correlation effects from CCSD(T) calculations. The CCSD(T) CBS limit interaction energies of the 26 crystal structures range from -3.19 to -6.77 kcal mol (-1) and average -5.01 kcal mol (-1). The CCSD(T) CBS limit interaction energies of the optimized complexes increase by roughly 1.5 kcal mol (-1) on average to -6.54 kcal mol (-1) (ranging from -5.93 to -7.05 kcal mol (-1)). Corrections for higher-order correlation effects are extremely important for both sets of structures and are responsible for the modest increase in the interaction energy after optimization. The MP2 method overbinds the crystal structures by 2.31 kcal mol (-1) on average compared to 4.50 kcal mol (-1) for the optimized structures.     

Accurate interaction energies of hydrogen-bonded nucleic acid base pairs

Hydrogen-bonded nucleic acids base pairs substantially contribute to the structure and stability of nucleic acids. The study presents reference ab initio structures and interaction energies of selected base pairs with binding energies ranging from -5 to -47 kcal/mol. The molecular structures are obtained using the RI-MP2 (resolution of identity MP2) method with extended cc-pVTZ basis set of atomic orbitals. The RI-MP2 method provides results essentially identical with the standard MP2 method. The interaction energies are calculated using the Complete Basis Set (CBS) extrapolation at the RI-MP2 level. For some base pairs, Coupled-Cluster corrections with inclusion of noniterative triple contributions (CCSD(T)) are given. The calculations are compared with selected medium quality methods. The PW91 DFT functional with the 6-31G basis set matches well the RI-MP2/CBS absolute interaction energies and reproduces the relative values of base pairing energies with a maximum relative error of 2.6 kcal/mol when applied with Becke3LYP-optimized geometries. The Becke3LYP DFT functional underestimates the interaction energies by few kcal/mol with relative error of 2.2 kcal/mol. Very good performance of nonpolarizable Cornell et al. force field is confirmed and this indirectly supports the view that H-bonded base pairs are primarily stabilized by electrostatic interactions.     

Benchmark database of accurate (MP2 and CCSD(T) complete basis set limit) interaction energies of small model complexes, DNA base pairs, and amino acid pairs

MP2 and CCSD(T) complete basis set (CBS) limit interaction energies and geometries for more than 100 DNA base pairs, amino acid pairs and model complexes are for the first time presented together. Extrapolation to the CBS limit is done by using two-point extrapolation methods and different basis sets (aug-cc-pVDZ - aug-cc-pVTZ, aug-cc-pVTZ - aug-cc-pVQZ, cc-pVTZ - cc-pVQZ) are utilized. The CCSD(T) correction term, determined as a difference between CCSD(T) and MP2 interaction energies, is evaluated with smaller basis sets (6-31G** and cc-pVDZ). Two sets of complex geometries were used, optimized or experimental ones. The JSCH-2005 benchmark set, which is now available to the chemical community, can be used for testing lower-level computational methods. For the first screening the smaller training set (S22) containing 22 model complexes can be recommended. In this case larger basis sets were used for extrapolation to the CBS limit and also CCSD(T) and counterpoise-corrected MP2 optimized geometries were sometimes adopted.     

Scope and limitations of the SCS-MP2 method for stacking and hydrogen bonding interactions

Fluorobenzenes are pi-acceptor synthons that form pi-stacked structures in molecular crystals as well as in artificial DNAs. We investigate the competition between hydrogen bonding and pi-stacking in dimers consisting of the nucleobase mimic 2-pyridone (2PY) and all fluorobenzenes from 1-fluorobenzene to hexafluorobenzene (n-FB, with n = 1-6). We contrast the results of high level ab initio calculations with those obtained using ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) laser spectroscopy of isolated and supersonically cooled dimers. The 2PY.n-FB complexes with n = 1-5 prefer double hydrogen bonding over pi-stacking, as diagnosed from the UV absorption and IR laser depletion spectra, which both show features characteristic of doubly H-bonded complexes. The 2-pyridone.hexafluorobenzene dimer is the only pi-stacked dimer, exhibiting a homogeneously broadened UV spectrum and no IR bands characteristic for H-bonded species. MP2 (second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory) calculations overestimate the pi-stacked dimer binding energies by about 10 kJ/mol and disagree with the experimental observations. In contrast, the MP2 treatment of the H-bonded dimers appears to be quite accurate. Grimme's spin-component-scaled MP2 approach (SCS-MP2) is an improvement over MP2 for the pi-stacked dimers, reducing the binding energy by approximately 10 kJ/mol. When applied to explicitly correlated MP2 theory (SCS-MP2-R12 approach), agreement with the corresponding coupled-cluster binding energies [at the CCSD(T) level] is very good for the pi-stacked dimers, within +/- 1 kJ/mol for the 2PY complexes with 1-fluorobenzene, 1,2-difluorobenzene, 1,2,4,5-tetrafluorobenzene, pentafluorobenzene and hexafluorobenzene. Unfortunately, the SCS-MP2 approach also reduces the binding energy of the H-bonded species, leading to disagreement with both coupled-cluster theory and experiment. The SCS-MP2-R12 binding energies follow the SCS-MP2 binding energies closely, being about 0.5 and 0.7 kJ/mol larger for the H-bonded and pi-stacked forms, respectively, in an augmented correlation-consistent polarized valence quadruple-zeta basis. It seems that the SCS-MP2 and SCS-MP2-R12 methods cannot provide sufficient accuracy to replace the CCSD(T) method for intermolecular interactions where H-bonding and pi-stacking are competitive.     

Stabilisation energy of C(6)H(6)...C(6)X(6) (X = F, Cl, Br, I, CN) complexes: complete basis set limit calculations at MP2 and CCSD(T) levels

Stabilisation energies of stacked structures of C(6)H(6)...C(6)X(6) (X = F, Cl, Br, CN) complexes were determined at the CCSD(T) complete basis set (CBS) limit level. These energies were constructed from MP2/CBS stabilisation energies and a CCSD(T) correction term determined with a medium basis set (6-31G**). The former energies were extrapolated using the two-point formula of Helgaker et al. from aug-cc-pVDZ and aug-cc-pVTZ Hartree-Fock energies and MP2 correlation energies. The CCSD(T) correction term is systematically repulsive. The final CCSD(T)/CBS stabilisation energies are large, considerably larger than previously calculated and increase in the series as follows: hexafluorobenzene (6.3 kcal mol(-1)), hexachlorobenzene (8.8 kcal mol(-1)), hexabromobenzene (8.1 kcal mol(-1)) and hexacyanobenzene (11.0 kcal mol(-1)). MP2/SDD** relativistic calculations performed for all complexes mentioned and also for benzene[dot dot dot]hexaiodobenzene have clearly shown that due to relativistic effects the stabilisation energy of the hexaiodobenzene complex is lower than that of hexabromobenzene complex. The decomposition of the total interaction energy to physically defined energy components was made by using the symmetry adapted perturbation treatment (SAPT). The main stabilisation contribution for all complexes investigated is due to London dispersion energy, with the induction term being smaller. Electrostatic and induction terms which are attractive are compensated by their exchange counterparts. The stacked motif in the complexes studied is very stable and might thus be valuable as a supramolecular synthon.     

Highly Accurate CCSD(T) and DFT–SAPT Stabilization Energies of H‐Bonded and Stacked Structures of the Uracil Dimer

The CCSD(T) interaction energies for the H‐bonded and stacked structures of the uracil dimer are determined at the aug‐cc‐pVDZ and aug‐cc‐pVTZ levels. On the basis of these calculations we can construct the CCSD(T) interaction energies at the complete basis set (CBS) limit. The most accurate energies, based either on direct extrapolation of the CCSD(T) correlation energies obtained with the aug‐cc‐pVDZ and aug‐cc‐pVTZ basis sets or on the sum of extrapolated MP2 interaction energies (from aug‐cc‐pVTZ and aug‐cc‐pVQZ basis sets) and extrapolated ΔCCSD(T) correction terms [difference between CCSD(T) and MP2 interaction energies] differ only slightly, which demonstrates the reliability and robustness of both techniques. The latter values, which represent new standards for the H‐bonding and stacking structures of the uracil dimer, differ from the previously published data for the S22 set by a small amount. This suggests that interaction energies of the S22 set are generated with chemical accuracy. The most accurate CCSD(T)/CBS interaction energies are compared with interaction energies obtained from various computational procedures, namely the SCS–MP2 (SCS: spin‐component‐scaled), SCS(MI)–MP2 (MI: molecular interaction), MP3, dispersion‐augmented DFT (DFT–D), M06–2X, and DFT–SAPT (SAPT: symmetry‐adapted perturbation theory) methods. Among these techniques, the best results are obtained with the SCS(MI)–MP2 method. Remarkably good binding energies are also obtained with the DFT–SAPT method. Both DFT techniques tested yield similarly good interaction energies. The large magnitude of the stacking energy for the uracil dimer, compared to that of the benzene dimer, is explained by attractive electrostatic interactions present in the stacked uracil dimer. These interactions force both subsystems to approach each other and the dispersion energy benefits from a shorter intersystem separation.     

On the nature of stabilization in weak, medium, and strong charge-transfer complexes: CCSD(T)/CBS and SAPT calculations

Weak, medium, and strong charge-transfer (CT) complexes containing various electron donors (C(2)H(4), C(2)H(2), NH(3), NMe(3), HCN, H(2)O) and acceptors (F(2), Cl(2), BH(3), SO(2)) were investigated at the CCSD(T)/complete basis set (CBS) limit. The nature of the stabilization for these CT complexes was evaluated on the basis of perturbative NBO calculations and DFT-SAPT/CBS calculations. The structure of all of the complexes was determined by the counterpoise-corrected gradient optimization performed at the MP2/cc-pVTZ level, and most of complexes possess a linear-like contact structure. The total stabilization energies lie between 1 and 55 kcal/mol and the strongest complexes contain BH(3) as an electron acceptor. When ordering the electron donors and electron acceptors on the basis of these energies, we obtain the same order as that based on the perturbative E2 charge-transfer energies, which provides evidence that the charge-transfer term is the dominant energy contribution. The CCSD(T) correction term, defined as the difference between the CCSD(T) and MP2 interaction energies, is mostly small, which allows the investigation of the CT complexes of this type at the "cheap" MP2/CBS level. In the case of weak and medium CT complexes (with stabilization energy smaller than about 15 kcal/mol), the dominant stabilization originates in the electrostatic term; the dispersion as well as induction and δ(HF) terms covering the CT energy contribution are, however, important as well. For strong CT complexes, induction energy is the second (after electrostatic) most important energy term. The role of the induction and δ(HF) terms is unique and characteristic for CT complexes. For all CT complexes, the CCSD(T)/CBS and DFT-SAPT/CBS stabilization energies are comparable, and surprisingly, it is true even for very strong CT complexes with stabilization energy close to 50 kcal/mol characteristic by substantial charge transfer (more than 0.3 e). It is thus possible to conclude that perturbative DFT-SAPT analysis is robust enough to be applied even for dative-like complexes with substantial charge transfer.     

Infinite-basis calculations of binding energies for the hydrogen bonded and stacked tetramers of formic acid and formamide and their use for validation of hybrid DFT and ab initio methods

Benchmark stabilization energies for planar H-bonded and stacked structures of formic acid tetramers and formamide tetramers were determined as the sum of the infinite basis set limit of MP2 energies and a CCSD(T) correction term evaluated with the 6-31G*(0.25) basis set. The infinite basis (IB) set limit of MP2 energies was determined by two-point extrapolation using the aug-cc-pVXZ basis sets for X = D and T and separate extrapolation of the Hartree-Fock and correlation energies with new IB parameters for augmented basis sets determined here. Final stabilization energies (kcal/mol) for the tetramer studied are in the range of 4.6 to approximately 6.7 kcal/mol and they were used as reference data to test 14 density functionals. Among the tested DFT methods, PWB6K gives the best performance with an average error equal to only 30% of the average binding energy. In contrast, the popular B3LYP functional has an average error of 85%. We recommend the PWB6K method for exploring the potential energy surfaces of organic complexes and clusters and supramolecular assemblies.     

On geometries of stacked and H-bonded nucleic acid base pairs determined at various DFT, MP2, and CCSD(T) levels up to the CCSD(T)/complete basis set limit level

The geometries and interaction energies of stacked and hydrogen-bonded uracil dimers and a stacked adeninecdots, three dots, centeredthymine pair were studied by means of high-level quantum chemical calculations. Specifically, standard as well as counterpoise-corrected optimizations were performed at second-order Moller-Plesset (MP2) and coupled cluster level of theory with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)] levels with various basis sets up to the complete basis set limit. The results can be summarized as follows: (i) standard geometry optimization with small basis set (e.g., 6-31G(*)) provides fairly reasonable intermolecular separation; (ii) geometry optimization with extended basis sets at the MP2 level underestimates the intermolecular distances compared to the reference CCSD(T) results, whereas the MP2/cc-pVTZ counterpoise-corrected optimization agrees well with the reference geometries and, therefore, is recommended as a next step for improving MP2/cc-pVTZ geometries; (iii) the stabilization energy of stacked nucleic acids base pairs depends considerably on the method used for geometry optimization, so the use of reliable geometries, such as counterpoise-corrected MP2/cc-pVTZ ones, is recommended; (iv) the density functional theory methods fail completely in locating the energy minima for stacked structures and when the geometries from MP2 calculations are used, the resulting stabilization energies are strongly underestimated; (v) the self-consistent charges-density functional tight binding method, with inclusion of the empirical dispersion energy, accurately reproduces interaction energies and geometries of dispersion-bonded (stacked) complexes; this method can thus be recommended for prescanning the potential energy surfaces of van der Waals complexes.     

Semi-empirical molecular orbital methods including dispersion corrections for the accurate prediction of the full range of intermolecular interactions in biomolecules

Semi-empirical calculations including an empirical dispersive correction are used to calculate intermolecular interaction energies and structures for a large database containing 156 biologically relevant molecules (hydrogen-bonded DNA base pairs, interstrand base pairs, stacked base pairs and amino acid base pairs) for which MP2 and CCSD(T) complete basis set (CBS) limit estimates of the interaction energies are available. The dispersion corrected semi-empirical methods are parameterised against a small training set of 22 complexes having a range of biologically important non-covalent interactions. For the full molecule set (156 complexes), compared to the high-level ab initio database, the mean unsigned errors of the interaction energies at the corrected semi-empirical level are 1.1 (AM1-D) and 1.2 (PM3-D) kcal mol(-1), being a significant improvement over existing AM1 and PM3 methods (8.6 and 8.2 kcal mol(-1)). Importantly, the new semi-empirical methods are capable of describing the diverse range of biological interactions, most notably stacking interactions, which are poorly described by both current AM1 and PM3 methods and by many DFT functionals. The new methods require no more computer time than existing semi-empirical methods and therefore represent an important advance in the study of important biological interactions.     

High-level ab initio calculations for the four low-lying families of minima of (H2O)20. I. Estimates of MP2/CBS binding energies and comparison with empirical potentials

We report estimates of complete basis set (CBS) limits at the second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation level of theory (MP2) for the binding energies of the lowest-lying isomers within each of the four major families of minima of (H(2)O)(20). These were obtained by performing MP2 calculations with the family of correlation-consistent basis sets up to quadruple zeta quality, augmented with additional diffuse functions (aug-cc-pVnZ, n=D, T, Q). The MP2/CPS estimates are -200.1 (dodecahedron, 30 hydrogen bonds), -212.6 (fused cubes, 36 hydrogen bonds), -215.0 (face-sharing pentagonal prisms, 35 hydrogen bonds), and -217.9 kcal/mol (edge-sharing pentagonal prisms, 34 hydrogen bonds). The energetic ordering of the various (H(2)O)(20) isomers does not follow monotonically the number of hydrogen bonds as in the case of smaller clusters such as the different isomers of the water hexamer. The dodecahedron lies ca. 18 kcal/mol higher in energy than the most stable edge-sharing pentagonal prism isomer. The TIP4P, ASP-W4, TTM2-R, AMOEBA, and TTM2-F empirical potentials also predict the energetic stabilization of the edge-sharing pentagonal prisms with respect to the dodecahedron, albeit they universally underestimate the cluster binding energies with respect to the MP2/CBS result. Among them, the TTM2-F potential was found to predict the absolute cluster binding energies to within <1% from the corresponding MP2/CBS values, whereas the error for the rest of the potentials considered in this study ranges from 3% to 5%.     

A quantum chemistry study of binding carotenoids in the bacterial light-harvesting complexes

Carotenoids play the dual function of light harvesting and photoprotection in photosynthetic organisms. Despite their functional importance, the molecular basis for binding of carotenoids in the photosynthetic proteins is poorly understood. We have discovered that all carotenoids are surrounded either by aromatic residues or by chlorophylls in all known crystal structures of the photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes. The intermolecular pi-pi stacking interactions between carotenoids and the surrounding aromatic residues in the light-harvesting complex II (LH-II) of Rhodospirillum molischianum were analyzed by high level ab initio electronic structure calculations. Intermolecular interaction energies were calculated with the second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation method (MP2) using the modified 6-31G*(0.25) basis set with diffuse d-polarization by Hobza and co-workers. The MP2/6-31G*(0.25) calculations yield a total stabilization energy of -15.66 kcal/mol between the carotenoid molecule and the four surrounding aromatic residues (alpha-Trp-23, beta-Phe-20, beta-Phe-24, beta-Phe-27). It is thus concluded that pi-pi stacking interactions between carotenoids and the aromatic residues play an essential role in binding carotenoids in the LH-II complex of Rhodospirillum molischianum. The physical nature of the pi-pi stacking interactions was further analyzed, and the dispersion interactions were found to be the dominant intermolecular attraction force. There is also a substantial electrostatic contribution to the overall intermolecular stabilization energy.     

Origins of the stability of imidazole-imidazole, benzene-imidazole, and benzene-indole dimers: CCSD(T)/CBS and SAPT calculations

The respective structures and stabilities of imidazole-imidazole, benzene-imidazole, and benzene-indole dimers have been investigated using different DFT-D functional, MP2, CCSD(T), and SAPT levels of theory with a medium basis set. Comparative analysis of binding energies and structural parameters of the dimers points to a preference for stacking contact or hydrogen bond in an imidazole-imidazole dimer. In contrast, a T-shaped configuration with H-π interaction is maximally advantageous for benzene-imidazole and benzene-indole dimers. High-level ab initio calculations at the CCSD(T)/CBS and DFT-SAPT levels show that classical hydrogen-bonded tilted imidazole-imidazole dimer is a global minimum structure and that it has high electrostatic energy. However, for benzene-imidazole and benzene-indole dimers, the global minimum (N-H···π) structure has high electrostatic energy as well as dispersion energy.     

Halogen bonded complexes between volatile anaesthetics (chloroform, halothane, enflurane, isoflurane) and formaldehyde: a theoretical study

The structures and intermolecular interactions in the halogen bonded complexes of anaesthetics (chloroform, halothane, enflurane and isoflurane) with formaldehyde were studied by ab initio MP2 and CCSD(T) methods. The CCSD(T)/CBS calculated binding energies of these complexes are between -2.83 and -4.21 kcal mol(-1). The largest stabilization energy has been found for the C-Br···O bonded halothane···OCH(2) complex. In all complexes the C-X bond length (where X = Cl, Br) is slightly shortened, in comparison to a free compound, and an increase of the C-X stretching frequency is observed. The electrostatic interaction was excluded as being responsible for the C-X bond contraction. It is suggested that contraction of the C-X bond length can be explained in terms of the Pauli repulsion (the exchange overlap) between the electron pairs of oxygen and halogen atoms in the investigated complexes. This is supported by the DFT-SAPT results, which indicate that the repulsive exchange energy overcompensates the electrostatic one. Moreover, the dispersion and electrostatic contributions cover about 95% of the total attraction forces, in these complexes.     

Scaled MP3 Non‐Covalent Interaction Energies Agree Closely with Accurate CCSD(T) Benchmark Data

Scaled MP3 interaction energies calculated as a sum of MP2/CBS (complete basis set limit) interaction energies and scaled third‐order energy contributions obtained in small or medium size basis sets agree very closely with the estimated CCSD(T)/CBS interaction energies for the 22 H‐bonded, dispersion‐controlled and mixed non‐covalent complexes from the S22 data set. Performance of this so‐called MP2.5 (third‐order scaling factor of 0.5) method has also been tested for 33 nucleic acid base pairs and two stacked conformers of porphine dimer. In all the test cases, performance of the MP2.5 method was shown to be superior to the scaled spin‐component MP2 based methods, e.g. SCS–MP2, SCSN–MP2 and SCS(MI)–MP2. In particular, a very balanced treatment of hydrogen‐bonded compared to stacked complexes is achieved with MP2.5. The main advantage of the approach is that it employs only a single empirical parameter and is thus biased by two rigorously defined, asymptotically correct ab‐initio methods, MP2 and MP3. The method is proposed as an accurate but computationally feasible alternative to CCSD(T) for the computation of the properties of various kinds of non‐covalently bound systems.