MEPSIM: A computational package for analysis and comparison of molecular electrostatic potentials

Summary MEPSIM is a computational system which allows an integrated computation, analysis, and comparison of molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) distributions. It includes several modules. Module MEPPLA supplies MEP values for the points of a grid defined on a plane which is specified by a set of three points. The results of this program can easily be converted into MEP maps using third-parties graphical software. Module MEPMIN allows to find automatically the MEP minima of a molecular system. It supplies the cartesian coordinates of these minima, their values, and all the geometrical relationships between them (distances, angles, and dihedral angles). Module MEPCOMP computes a similarity coefficient between the MEP distributions of two molecules and finds their relative position that maximizes the similarity. Module MEPCONF performs the same process as MEPCOMP, considering not only the relative position of both molecules but also a conformational degree of freedom of one of them. The most recently developed module, MEPPAR, is another modification of MEPCOMP in order to compute the MEP similarity between two molecules, but only taking into account a particular plane. The latter module is particularly useful to compare MEP distributions generated by systems of aromatic rings. MEPSIM can use several wavefunction computation approaches to obtain MEP distributions. MEPSIM has a menu type interface to simplify the following tasks: creation of input files from output files of external programs (GAUSSIAN and AMPAC/MOPAC), setting the parameters for the current computation, and submitting jobs to the batch queues of the computer. MEPSIM has been coded in FORTRAN and its current version runs on VMS/VAX computers.     

Influence of polarization functions on molecular electrostatic potentials

We study the effects of d-polarization functions, centered on the heavy atoms, on the SCF molecular electrostatic potentials calculated for some molecules. The positions and energies of the minima found are very sensitive to the inclusion of polarization functions in the basis set used. The variations depend on the heavy atom involved and on the possible anisotropy of its charge distribution. These variations are particularly important for second-row atoms.     

Ligand atom partial charges assignment for complementary electrostatic potentials

Summary The design of molecules to fit into the active site of receptors is a rapidly developing area of pharmacology and medicinal chemistry. A good ligand needs a suitable geometry and also appropriate electrostatic properties. The electrostatic properties of the ligand should complement those of the receptor. We present a method for the assignment of atom-centred point charges for a ligand, based on the electrostatic potential of the receptor. These point charges are chosen to give the best possible complementarity to the receptor electrostatic potential over the van der Waals surface of the ligand. We demonstrate that point charges can be chosen to give good electrostatic complementarity, and suggest that a molecule with similar electrostatic properties should bind well to the receptor.     

Electrostatic molecular potentials in hydrogen-bonded systems

A study is made of the modifications of the electrostatic molecular potential brought about by hydrogen bonding both in the hydrogen-bond region itself and in the external regions of the proton-acceptor and proton-donor molecules. Systems up to four successive units in a chain of donor-acceptors are considered. The possibility of obtaining a satisfactory picture of the global potential by a simple superposition of the potentials of the individual units is evaluated.     

Molecular electrostatic potentials of hydrogen-bonded systems: The oligomers of formamide

The modifications of the electrostatic molecular potential of formamide upon hydrogen bonding into various dimers and oligomers are presented and the predictive value of these potentials for assessing the strength of further hydrogen bonding is discussed. The potentials of long linear chains allow an understanding of the disposition of the molecules in the crystal.     

The molecular electrostatic potential and steric accessibility of C-DNA

The molecular electrostatic potentials and steric accessibilities associated with reactive sites of C-DNA are calculated for the sequences poly(dG · dC) and poly(dA · dT). The distribution of potential on the surface envelopes of the double helices are also presented. The results are compared with those obtained for B-DNA.     

Multi-way PLS modeling of structure–activity data by incorporating electrostatic and lipophilic potentials on molecular surface

We devised and elaborated a surface-based three-dimensional-quantitative structure–activity relationship (3D-QSAR) method, which had been proposed in the previous study. This approach can be applied to more general case where both the electrostatic and lipophilic potentials on molecular surface simultaneously change. The 3D coordinates of all sampling points on molecular surface are projected into a 2D map by Kohonen neural network (KNN). Each node in the map is coded by the associated molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) or molecular lipophilic potential (MLP) values. The electrostatic and lipophilic KNN maps are generated for each compound and the four-way array is constructed by collecting two KNN maps of all samples. The correlation between four-way array and biological activity is examined by four-way partial least-squares (PLS). For validation, the structure–activity data of estrogen receptor antagonists was investigated. The four-way PLS model gave the high statistics at calibration and validation stages. The coefficients of the four-way PLS model back-projected on molecular surface had a reasonable 3D distribution and it was nicely consistent with active site of the estrogen receptor which was recently made clear by X-ray crystallography.     

Quantum chemical study on the interaction of some bisphosphonates and Ca2+: The role of molecular electrostatic potentials in the prediction of binding geometry

Summary Molecular electrostatic potentials have been used to model the calcium binding properties of some bisphosphonate drugs, which are used to treat various bone diseases. The mechanism of action involves the binding of bisphosphonates to the bone surface, where calcium plays an important role. Electrostatic potential maps derived from ab initio partial charges have been compared with both the crystal structure and the fully optimized ab initio structure of (dichloro)methylenebisphosphonate-calcium ion complex. Molecular electrostatic potentials can correctly predict the calcium binding geometry of bisphosphonate-type compounds and this type of information can be used in the practical drug design work.     

Topography of approximate molecular electrostatic potentials

A new method is described for the approximation of the molecular electrostatic potential (MESP). This method is used for the study of the topography of small molecules. The critical points of the approximate and the exact MESP are compared. It is found that most of the critical points of the exact MESP are retained, but in regions where the exact MESP changes slowly near critical points the number of critical points of the approximate MESP can be reduced.     

The molecular electrostatic potential of some simple molecules

The calculation of the molecular electrostatic potential from simplified models of the electron density is considered. Results are shown for water, hydrogen fluoride and ammonia. Little loss of accuracy is evident when the density is represented by a linear sum of well-chosen Gaussians. When these are further simplified into sets of point charges the inner parts of the molecule are poorly represented. More elaborate point moments make the representation worse. On the other hand a mixed representation with point charges and one diffuse Gaussian gives all the essential features of the potential of these molecules.     

Theoretical studies of the mechanism of the action of the neurohypophyseal hormones. I. Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) and molecular electrostatic field (MEF) maps of some vasopressin analogues

Summary Continuing our theoretical studies of the oxytocin and vasopressin analogues, we have analysed the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) and the norm of the molecular electrostatic field (MEF) of [1--mercaptopropionic acid]-arginine-vasopressin ([Mpa¹]-AVP), [1-(-mercapto-,-cyclopentamethylene)propionic acid]-arginine-vasopressin ([Cpp]-AVP), and [1-thiosalicylic acid]-arginine-vasopressin ([Ths]-AVP) whose low-energy conformations were calculated in our previous work. These compounds are known from experiment to exhibit different biological activity. The scalar fields mentioned determine the energy of interaction with either charged (MEP) or polar (MEF) species, the energy being in the second case either optimal or Boltzmann-averaged over all the possible orientations of the dipole moment versus the electrostatic field. The electrostatic interactions slowly vanish with distance and can therefore be considered to be the factor determining the molecular shape at greater distances, which can help in both predicting the interactions with the receptor at the stage of remote recognition and in finding the preferred directions of solvation by a polar solvent. In the analysis of the fields three techniques have been used: (i) the construction of maps in certain planes; (ii) the construction of maps on spheres centered in the charge center of the molecule under study and of poles chosen according to the main axes of the quadrupole moment; and (iii) the construction of surfaces corresponding to a given value of potential. The results obtained show that the shapes of both MEP and MEF are similar in the case of [Mpa¹]-AVP and [Cpp¹-AVP (biologically active), while some differences emerge when comparing these compounds with [Ths¹]-AVP (inactive). It has also been found that both MEP and MEF depend even more strongly on conformation.     

The calculation of molecular electrostatic potential from a multipole expansion based on localized orbitals and developed at their centroids: Accuracy and applicability for macromolecular computations

An improvement of a multipole expansion based on localized orbitals and termed LMTP is presented and its ability to generate accurate electrostatic potentials is demonstrated. The possibilities of using this expansion in studying the potential of different conformational states of a molecule without the necessity of recalculating its molecular wavefunction is described and the construction of macromolecular potentials by the superposition of the potentials of subunits is reconsidered.     

Automatic search for maximum similarity between molecular electrostatic potential distributions

Summary A new computer program has been developed to automatically obtain the relative position of two molecules in which the similarity between molecular electrostatic-potential distributions is greatest. These distributions are considered in a volume around the molecules, and the similarity is measured by the Spearman rank coefficient. The program has been tested using several pairs of molecules: water vs. water; phenylethylamine and phenylpropylamine vs. benzylamine; and methotrexate vs. dihydrofolic acid.     

A study of solvent effects on the stereoselectivity of Diels-Alder reactions through molecular surface electrostatic potentials

Statistical models for the study of solvent effects on the endo/exo selectivity of Diels-Alder reactions using molecular surface electrostatic potentials was obtained. The models show that hydrogen bond interactions of solvent molecules favor the predominance of the endo isomer for the reaction of methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate and methyl trans-crotonate with cyclopentadiene whereas the effect of solvophobicity seems to be negligible.     

Similarity screening of molecular data sets

Summary Three-dimensional (3D)-database searches are now being widely applied to determine potential new active molecules. Many structural data sets obtained as a result of these searches are still large in size. In this paper we apply molecular similarity calculations as a rapid method to screen two such data sets. In the first investigation, synthetic candidates, produced as a result of a tendamistat -turn mimic search, were tested for their ability to imitate the -turn backbone. In the second study, structures extracted through a histamine pharmacophore query search were examined on the basis of their electronic similarity to histamine. Molecular similarity is shown to provide a rapid means of gaining insight into the composition of molecular data sets, with possible implications for future full 3D-database searches.     

富勒烯结构B_(80)分子静电势的理论研究

在混合密度泛函B3LYP理论下,用6-31G*基函数对富勒烯结构B80分子的3个异构体(1个具有Ih对称性,2个具有Th对称性)构型进行优化和分子静电势计算.结果表明:3个异构体球内全部为正电势,球外五元环中心所对应的区域都为负电势,B80Ih,Th(A)和Th(B)球外静电势的最大负值分别对应于20个六元环中心的B原子,五元环中心和12个六元环中心的B原子周围,它们组成了化学反应中最可能的活性点.     

On the molecular electrostatic potentials obtained with CNDO and INDO wave functions

Molecular electrostatic potentials computed with CNDO/2 and INDO wave functions are shown to present systematic differences with respect to ab initio potentials in the case of out-of-plane potentials and in-plane vicinal hetero atoms in planar hetero molecules.