Importance of CH/π hydrogen bonds in recognition of the core motif in proline-recognition domains: an ab initio fragment molecular orbital study

We examined CH/π hydrogen bonds in protein/ligand complexes involving at least one proline residue using the ab initio fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method and the program CHPI. FMO calculations were carried out at the Hartree–Fock (HF)/6‐31G*, HF/6‐31G**, second‐order Møller–Plesset perturbation (MP2)/6‐31G*, and MP2/6‐31G** levels for three Src homology 3 (SH3) domains and five proline‐recognition domains (PRDs) complexed with their corresponding ligand peptides. PRDs use a conserved set of aromatic residues to recognize proline‐rich sequences of specific ligands. Many CH/π hydrogen bonds were identified in these complexes. CH/π hydrogen bonds occurred, in particular, in the central part of the proline‐rich motifs. Our results suggest that CH/π hydrogen bonds are important in the recognition of SH3 and PRDs by their ligand peptides and play a vital role in the signal transduction system. Combined use of the FMO method and CHPI analysis is a valuable tool for the study of protein/protein and protein/ligand interactions and may be useful in rational drug design. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2011     

A theoretical study of the rotational isomers of nitrosomethanol by semiempirical (AM1) and ab initio methods

The conformational potential energy surface as a function of the two internal torsion angles in C-nitrosomethanol has been obtained using the semiempirical AM1 method. Optimized geometries are reported for the local minima on this surface and also for the corresponding points on the HF/6-31G, 6-31G*, and 6-31G** surfaces. All methods predict cis and trans minima which occur in degenerate pairs, each pair being connected by a transition state of C_s symmetry. The AM1 structures are found to compare well with the corresponding ab initio structures. Ab initio HF/6-31G and HF/6-31G* harmonic vibrational frequencies are reported for the cis and trans forms of nitrosomethanol. When scaled appropriately the calculated frequencies are found to compare well with experimental frequencies. The ab initio calculations predict the energy barrier for cis → trans isomerization to be between 5.8 and 6.5 kcal/mol with the trans → cis isomerization barrier lying between 2.3 and 6.5 kcal/mol. The corresponding AM1 energy barriers are around 1 kcal/mol lower in energy. The ab initio calculations predict the barrier to conversion between the two cis rotamers to be very small with the AM1 value being around 1 kcal/mol. Both AM1 and ab initio calculations predict interconversion between trans rotamers to require between 1.2 and 1.4 kcal/mol.     

Predictive abilities of scaled quantum-mechanical molecular force fields: application to 2-methylbuta-1,3-diene (isoprene)

The ab initio-based, scaled quantum-mechanical molecular force field (SQM-FF) analysis of the vibrational spectra of the s-trans and s-gauche conformers of 2-methylbuta-1,3-diene (isoprene), reported previously at the HF/6-31G//HF/6-31G computational level [Bock, et al. J Mol Struct 160: 337, 1987], has been updated in this article using a more complete set of experimental data on the s-gauche conformer along with revised results for the s-trans conformer obtained in the gas phase, in a low-temperature matrix, and in neat crystals. Geometrical parameters and the calculated wavenumbers derived from the SQM-FF at the MP2(FC)/aug-cc-pVDZ//MP2(FC)/aug-cc-pVDZ level are compared to experiment. The analyses performed are consistent with the presence of a twisted high-energy s-gauche conformer of isoprene.     

Calculated structures and relative stabilities of furoxan,some 1,2-dinitrosoethylenes and other isomers

The structures and relative stabilities of furoxan and some of its isomers, e.g., the 1,2-dinitrosoethylenes, have been determined by means of ab initio Hartee–Fock and Møller–Plesset calculations. Geometries were optimized at the HF/3-21G, HF/6-31G* and MP2/6-31G* levels, and subsequently used for computing MP2/6-31G*, MP3/6-31G*, and MP4/6-31G* energies. The results are markedly affected by the inclusion of electronic correlation, which renders three of the isomers unstable. It also emphasizes the importance of a zwitterionic contribution to the structure of furoxan, which promotes ring-opening through a cis 1,2-dinitrosoethylene intermediate/transition state that has an MP4/6-31G*//MP2/6-31G* energy that is 31.6 kcal/mol above furoxan.     

Rate coefficients of the CF3CHFCF3 + H → CF3CFCF3 + H2 reaction at different temperatures calculated by transition state theory with ab initio and DFT reaction paths

The minimum energy path (MEP) of the reaction, CF₃CHFCF₃ + H → transition state (TS) → CF₃CFCF₃ + H₂, has been computed at different ab initio levels and with density functional theory (DFT) using different functionals. The computed B3LYP/6‐31++G**, BH&HLYP/cc‐pVDZ, BMK/6‐31++G**, M05/6‐31+G**, M05‐2X/6‐31+G**, UMP2/6‐31++G**, PUMP2/6‐31++G**//UMP2/6‐31++G**, RCCSD(T)/aug‐cc‐pVDZ//UMP2/6‐31++G**, RCCSD(T)/aug‐cc‐pVTZ(spd,sp)//UMP2//6‐31++G**, RCCSD(T)/CBS//M05/6‐31+G**, and RCCSD(T)/CBS//UMP2/6‐31++G** MEPs, and associated gradients and Hessians, were used in reaction rate coefficient calculations based on the transition state theory (TST). Reaction rate coefficients were computed between 300 and 1500 K at various levels of TST, which include conventional TST, canonical variational TST (CVT) and improved CVT (ICVT), and with different tunneling corrections, namely, Wigner, zero‐curvature, and small‐curvature (SCT). The computed rate coefficients obtained at different ab initio, DFT and TST levels are compared with experimental values available in the 1000–1200 K temperature range. Based on the rate coefficients computed at the ICVT/SCT level, the highest TST level used in this study, the BH&HLYP functional performs best among all the functionals used, while the RCCSD(T)/CBS//MP2/6‐31++G** level is the best among all the ab initio levels used. Comparing computed reaction rate coefficients obtained at different levels of theory shows that, the computed barrier height has the strongest effect on the computed reaction rate coefficients as expected. Variational effects on the computed rate coefficients are found to be negligibly small. Although tunneling effects are relatively small at high temperatures (～1500 K), SCT corrections are significant at low temperatures (～300 K), and both barrier heights and the magnitudes of the imaginary frequencies affect SCT corrections. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Theoretical studies on electron delocalisation in selenourea

Ab initio and density functional calculations have been performed on the different possible structures of selenourea(su), urea(u) and thiourea(tu) to understand the extent of delocalisation in selenourea in comparison to urea and thiourea. Selenourea(su-1) withC ₂ symmetry has the minima on the potential energy surface at MP2(fu)/6-31+G* level. The C-N rotational barrier in selenourea is 8.69 kcal/mol, which is 0.29 and 0.11 kcal/mol more than that of urea and thiourea respectively at MP2(fu)/6-31+G* level. N-inversion barrier is 0.55 kcal/mol at MP2(fu)6-31+G* level. NBO analysis has been carried out to understand the nature of different interactions responsible for the electron delocalisation.     

A Hybrid statistical mechanics—quantum chemical model for proton transfer in 5‐azauracil and 6‐azauracil in water solution

A hybrid statistical physics—quantum‐chemical methodology was implemented to study the water‐assisted intramolecular proton‐transfer processes in 5‐ and 6‐azauracils in aqueous solutions. The solvent effects were included in the model by explicit inclusion of two pairs of water molecules, which model the relevant part of the first hydration shell around the solute. The position of these water molecules was initially estimated by carrying out a classical Metropolis of dilute water solutions of the title compounds and subsequently analyzing solute–solvent intermolecular interactions in the Monte Carlo‐generated configurations. Sequentially to the statistical physics simulation, ab initio quantum mechanical (QM) level of theory was implemented. The effects of the water as solvent (at ab initio QM level) were introduced at two different levels—using solute–solvent clusters (four‐water molecules) and using the same clusters embedded in an external continuum. Full geometry optimizations of these complexes were carried out at MP2/6–31 + G(d, p) and conductor‐polarizable continuum model (C‐PCM)/MP2/6–31 + G(d, p). Single point calculations were performed at CCSD(T)/6–31 + G(d, p)//MP2/6–31 + G(d, p) computational level to obtain more accurate energies. According to our calculations hydrated azauracils should exist in three forms: mainly dioxo form and two hydroxy forms. The calculated proton transfer activation energies for tautomeric reactions of 5‐azauracil and 6‐azauracil show different pictures for these two compounds. According to C‐PCM/MP2/6–31 +G(d, p) data, water‐assisted proton transfer in 5‐azauracil realizes through two parallel reactions: 1,3,5‐triazine‐2,4(1H,3H)‐dione → 6‐hydroxy‐1,3,5‐triazin‐2(1H)‐one and 1,3,5‐triazine‐2,4(1H,3H)‐dione → 4‐hydroxy‐1,3,5‐triazin‐2(1H)‐one. Tautomeric equilibrium in 6‐azauracil in water could occur by two contiguous reactions: 1,2,4‐triazine‐3,5(2H,4H)‐dione → 5‐hydroxy‐1,2,4‐triazin‐3(2H)‐one and 5‐hydroxy‐1,2,4‐triazin‐3(2H)‐one → 3‐hydroxy‐1,2,4‐triazin‐5(2H)‐one. The proton transfer investigated reactions in 5‐ and 6‐azauracils involve concerted atomic movement. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Proton affinities of molecules containing nitrogen and oxygen: comparing ab initio and semiempirical results to experiments

We report a comparison of theoretical and experimental proton affinities at nitrogen and oxygen sites within a series of small molecules. The calculated proton affinities are determined using the semiempirical methods AM 1, MNDO , and PM 3; the ab initio Hartree–Fock method at the following basis levels: 3-21G //3-21G , 3-21+G //3-21G , 6-31G *//6-31G *, and 6-31+G (d, p)//6-31G *; and Møller–Plesset perturbation calculations: MP 2/6-31G *//6-31G *, MP 3/6-31G *//6-31G *, MP 2/6-31G +(d, p)//6-31G *, MP 3/6-31G +(d, p)//6-31G *, and MP 4(SDTQ )/6-31G +G (d, p)//6-31G *. The semiempirical methods have more nonsystematic scatter from the experimental values, compared to even the minimal 3-21G level ab initio calculations. The thermodynamically corrected 6-31G *//6-31G * proton affinities provide acceptable results compared to experiment, and we see no significant improvement over 6-31G *//6-31G * in the proton affinities with any of the higher-level calculations. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Computational studies on carbohydrates: I. Density functional ab initio geometry optimization on maltose conformations

Ab initio geometry optimization was carried out on 10 selected conformations of maltose and two 2‐methoxytetrahydropyran conformations using the density functional denoted B3LYP combined with two basis sets. The 6‐31G* and 6‐311++G** basis sets make up the B3LYP/6‐31G* and B3LYP/6‐311++G** procedures. Internal coordinates were fully relaxed, and structures were gradient optimized at both levels of theory. Ten conformations were studied at the B3LYP/6‐31G* level, and five of these were continued with full gradient optimization at the B3LYP/6‐311++G** level of theory. The details of the ab initio optimized geometries are presented here, with particular attention given to the positions of the atoms around the anomeric center and the effect of the particular anomer and hydrogen bonding pattern on the maltose ring structures and relative conformational energies. The size and complexity of the hydrogen‐bonding network prevented a rigorous search of conformational space by ab initio calculations. However, using empirical force fields, low‐energy conformers of maltose were found that were subsequently gradient optimized at the two ab initio levels of theory. Three classes of conformations were studied, as defined by the clockwise or counterclockwise direction of the hydroxyl groups, or a flipped conformer in which the ψ‐dihedral is rotated by ∼180°. Different combinations of ω side‐chain rotations gave energy differences of more than 6 kcal/mol above the lowest energy structure found. The lowest energy structures bear remarkably close resemblance to the neutron and X‐ray diffraction crystal structures. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. * J Comput Chem 21: 1204–1219, 2000     

Theoretical Study of the Unimolecular Decomposition Mechanism of Chloromethanol

The decomposition pathways of chloromethanol have been studied by ab initio calculation. Equilibriums and transition states have been optimized at the UMP2(full)/6–31G(d) level. The single point energies have been obtained at higher level of G3 (MP2). Four transition states and eight reaction pathways have been revealed and the most favorable reaction to decomposition pathway is the 1, 2‐HCI elimination, which is consistent with the former scientist's conclusion.     

Computer simulation of trifluoromethane properties with ab initio force field

Intermolecular interaction potentials of the trifluoromethane dimer in 15 orientations have been calculated using the Hartree‐Fock (HF) self‐consistent theory and the second‐order Møller‐Plesset (MP2) perturbation theory. Single point energies at important geometries were also calibrated by the coupled cluster with single and double and perturbative triple excitation [CCSD(T)] calculations. We have employed Pople's medium size basis sets [up to 6‐311++G(3df,3pd)] and Dunning's correlation consistent basis sets (up to aug‐cc‐pVQZ). Basis set limit potential values were obtained through well‐studied extrapolation methods. The calculated MP2 potential data were employed to parameterize a 5‐site force field for molecular simulations. We performed molecular dynamics simulations using the constructed ab initio force field and compared the simulation results with experiments. Quantitative agreements for the atom‐wise radial distribution functions and the self‐diffusion coefficients over a wide range of experimental conditions can be obtained, thus validating the ab initio force field without using experimental data a priori. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011     

Peptide models XXIII. Conformational model for polar side‐chain containing amino acid residues: A comprehensive analysis of RHF,DFT, and MP2 properties of HCO‐L‐SER‐NH2

Geometric and energetic properties of a diamide of serine, HCO‐NH‐L ‐CH(CH₂OH)CO‐NH₂, are investigated by standard methods of computational quantum chemistry. Similarly to other amino acid residues, conformational properties of HCO‐L ‐Ser‐NH₂ can be derived from the analysis of its E=E(ϕ,ψ;χ₁,χ₂) hypersurface. Reoptimization of 44 RHF/3‐21G conformers at the RHF/6‐311++G** level resulted in 36 minima. For all conformers, geometrical properties, including variation of H‐bond parameters and structural shifts in the torsional space, are thoroughly investigated. Results from further single‐point energy calculations at the RHF, DFT, and MP2 levels, performed on the entire conformational data set, form a database of 224 energy values, perhaps the largest set calculated so far for any single amino acid diamide. A comprehensive analysis of this database reveals significant correlation among energies obtained at six levels of ab initio theory. Regression parameters provide an opportunity for extrapolation in order to predict the energy of a conformer at a high level by doing explicit ab initio computations only for a few selected conformers. The computed conformational and relative energy data are compared with structural and occurrence results derived from a nonhomologous protein database incorporating 1135 proteins. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 21: 626–655, 2000     

Stabilization of nonclassical types of valence bond orientation at the carbon atom in organoboron compounds

The complete topological structure of the potential energy surface (PES) of methane in the inversion region was studied by theab initio CCD(full)/6-311++G^** method. The necessity of taking into account nuclear motions was shown. Penta- and hexacoordination of carbon atoms in boron-containing organic compounds was investigated by theab initio MP2(full)/6-31G^** and MP2(full)/6-311++G^** methods. The CB₄H₄Li₂, CB₆N₂H₂, and CB₆O₂ systems containing hexacoordinated carbon atoms correspond to rather deep minima on the relevant PES and can be the subject of synthetic studies. According to theab initio calculations, pyramidal boron-containing systems with hypercoordinated carbon atoms, which fulfill the “8e rule,” also correspond to rather deep PES minima and can be detected experimentally. Dedicated to Academician V. I. Minkin on the occasion of his 65th birthday. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 786–796, May, 2000     

Study of the temperature‐dependent conformational averaging of 1H NMR resonances in vinylcyclopropane through the use of ab initio methodology and Boltzmann statistics

The temperature dependence of the ¹ H NMR resonance of the C‐4 olefinic proton in vinylcyclopropane was investigated through a combination of ab initio calculations and Boltzmann statistics. A torsional energy profile as a function of the 〈?〉 dihedral angle was obtained using HF methodology with a 6–311G** basis set, while the corresponding ¹ H chemical shift profiles for the C‐4 proton were computed using the GIAO approach and either HF, DFT (B3LYP) or MP2 methods at the 6–311G** level of theory. Chemical shifts at different temperatures calculated as canonical ensemble averages in which the different ab initio ¹ H chemical shift profiles and a Boltzmann factor defined by the HF/ 6–311G** energy function are employed reproduce remarkably well the temperature dependence observed experimentally. Attempts to perform a similar study using only the GIAO‐MP2 ¹ H chemical shift profile and 〈?〉 dihedral angle trajectories obtained from molecular dynamics simulations at different temperatures failed to reproduce the experimental trends. This shortcoming was attributed to the inability of the force fields employed, Tripos 6.0 and MMFF94, to reproduce properly the three‐well torsional potential of vinylcyclopropane. The application of both methodologies to the calculation of population‐dependent chemical shifts in other systems is discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrogen bonding in acetylacetaldehyde: Theoretical insights from the theory of atoms in molecules

All the possible conformations of tautomeric structures (keto and enol) of acetylacetaldehyde (AAD) were fully optimized at HF, B3LYP, and MP2 levels with 6‐31G(d,p) and 6‐311++G(d,p) basis sets to determine the conformational equilibrium. Theoretical results show that two chelated enol forms have extra stability with respect to the other conformers, but identification of global minimum is very difficult. The high level ab initio calculations G2(MP2) and CBS‐QB3) also support the HF conclusion. It seems that the chelated enol forms have equal stability, and the energy gap between them is probably lies in the computational error range. Finally, the analysis of hydrogen bond in these molecules by quantum theory of atoms in molecules (AIM) and natural bond orbital (NBO) methods fairly support the ab initio results. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009     

Comparative conformational analysis of 1,3-dioxane and 1,3-dithiane

It was shown by ab initio quantum-chemical approximations HF/6-31G(d) and MP2/6-31G(d)//HF/6-31G(d) that the conformational isomerization of 1,3-dioxane and 1,3-dithiane proceeded along common routes. The potential energy surface of both compounds contains six minima including the chair invertomers and enantiomeric flexible forms. They are separated by several potential barriers. It was established by molecular dynamics method that the flexible conformers at heating and keeping at 295–300 K transformed into each other and in the chair conformer.     

Molecular Conformation of 2,2'-Dinitrodiphenylamine According to Dielectric Studies and Ab Initio Quantum Chemical Calculations

According to the results of ab initio calculations employing the HF/6-31G* approach, the isolated 2,2'-dinitrodiphenylamine molecule exists as an sc, sc conformer stabilized by a symmetric intramolecular bifurcated (three-center) hydrogen bond. In protophilic solvents (1,4-dioxane), the conformational equilibrium is also shifted in the direction of this rotational isomer.     

Study of hydrogen bonding interactions relevant to biomolecular structure and function

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations were used to study hydrogen bonding interactions and interatomic distances of a number of hydrogen bonded complexes that are germane to biomolecular structure and function. The calculations were carried out at the STO-3G, 3-21G, 6-31G*, and MP2/6-31G* levels (geometries were fully optimized at each level). For anionic species, 6-31 + G* and MP2/6-31 + G* were also used. In some cases, more sophisticated calculations were also carried out. Whenever possible, the corresponding enthalpy, entropy, and free energy of complexation were calculated. The agreement with the limited quantity of experimental data is good. For comparison, we also carried out semiempirical molecular orbital calculations. In general, AM1 and PM3 give lower interaction enthalpies than the best ab initio results. With regard to structural results, AM1 tends to favor bifurcated structures for O? H-O and N? HO types of hydrogen bonds, but not for hydrogen bonds involving O-H? S and S-H? O, where the usual hydrogen bond patterns are observed. Overall, AM1 geometries are in general in poor agreement with ab initio structural results. On the other hand, PM3 gives geometries similar to the ab initio ones. Hence, from the structural point of view PM3 does show some improvement over AM1. Finally, insights into the formation of cyclic or open formate–water hydrogen bonded complexes are presented. © 1992 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.