On the use of conformationally dependent geometry trends from ab initio dipeptide studies to refine potentials for the empirical force field CHARMM

Previous 4-21G ab initio geometry optimizations of various conformations of the model dipeptides (N-acetyl N'methyl amides) of glycine (GLY) and the alanine (ALA) have been used to help refine the empirical force constants and equilibrium geometry in the CHARMM force field for peptides. Conformationally dependent geometry trends from ab initio calculations and positions of energy minima on the ab initio energy surfaces have been used as guides in the parameter refinement, leading to modifications in the bond stretch, angle bending, and some torsional parameters. Preliminary results obtained with these refined empirical parameters are presented for the protein Crambin. Results for the cyclic (Ala-Pro-DPhe)₂ are compared with those from other calculations. It seems that the dihedral angle fit achieved by the new parameters is significantly improved compared with results from force fields whose derivation does not include ab initio geometry trends.     

Adaptation of D2h ab initio computer code to higher-symmetry point groups

The imposition of symmetry in electronic structure calculations can be plagued by artifactual symmetry-breaking in orbital or configuration amplitudes. While most ab initio computer code is well-developed to impose symmetry constraints in D_2h and its subgroups, the problem is not nearly as tractable in higher-symmetry point groups. This article describes the successful modification of existing D_2h ab initio computer code to handle symmetry constraints in higher-symmetry point groups. Prospects for the development of ab initio computer code that runs fully under any point group are also discussed.     

Multiobjective evolutionary algorithm with many tables for purely ab initio protein structure prediction

This article focuses on the development of an approach for ab initio protein structure prediction (PSP) without using any earlier knowledge from similar protein structures, as fragment‐based statistics or inference of secondary structures. Such an approach is called purely ab initio prediction. The article shows that well‐designed multiobjective evolutionary algorithms can predict relevant protein structures in a purely ab initio way. One challenge for purely ab initio PSP is the prediction of structures with β‐sheets. To work with such proteins, this research has also developed procedures to efficiently estimate hydrogen bond and solvation contribution energies. Considering van der Waals, electrostatic, hydrogen bond, and solvation contribution energies, the PSP is a problem with four energetic terms to be minimized. Each interaction energy term can be considered an objective of an optimization method. Combinatorial problems with four objectives have been considered too complex for the available multiobjective optimization (MOO) methods. The proposed approach, called “Multiobjective evolutionary algorithms with many tables” (MEAMT), can efficiently deal with four objectives through the combination thereof, performing a more adequate sampling of the objective space. Therefore, this method can better map the promising regions in this space, predicting structures in a purely ab initio way. In other words, MEAMT is an efficient optimization method for MOO, which explores simultaneously the search space as well as the objective space. MEAMT can predict structures with one or two domains with RMSDs comparable to values obtained by recently developed ab initio methods (GAPF_CG, I‐PAES, and Quark) that use different levels of earlier knowledge. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Zur quantenchemischen Behandlung von Kation-Amid-Solvatkomplexen

A comparison ofab initio calculations employing different basis sets with corresponding CNDO/2 results for the Li⁺/HCONH₂ complex shows that these methods lead to completely different energy surfaces for this system. Reduction of the basis set, even to the minimal size, does not bring about serious changes in the results of theab initio calculations, whereas in the semiempirical treatment some methodical errors seem to occur. When using however, theab initio minimum geometry the CNDO/2 calculations also give a qualitatively correct picture for the influence of the cation on the amide modecule.     

A comparative study of the structure and bonding of HOO,HOS, HSO,and HSS radicals by CNDO/2 and INDO methods

Equilibrium geometries, force constants, barriers to linearity, charge distributions, dipole moments, and electron spin density of HOO, HOS, HSO, and HSS radicals are calculated by CNDO/2 and INDO methods using respectively the original and some recently introduced scheme of parametrization. Three sets of calculations, namely, CNDO/2(sp), CNDO/2(spd), and INDO, are performed, and the results are compared with the ab initio and experimental values, wherever available. A good agreement is obtained for geometry in the case of CNDO/2 (sp) and INDO calculations. The performance of CNDO/2 (spd) calculations in this regard is quite unreliable. The stretching force constants are considerably overestimated by all the methods, while the bending force constants are in reasonable agreement with the ab initio values. With respect to dipole moments, the CNDO/2 values are in better agreement with the ab initio results than the INDO values. In all the cases, the dipole moment vector directions are in complete disagreement with the ab initio predictions.     

Furtherab initio calculations on the allyl radical

Furtherab initio calculations of proton coupling constants using the LCGO technique are presented for the allyl radical, showing varying degrees of success.

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Zusammenfassung Es werden weitereab initio Rechnungen für die Proton-Kopplungskonstante angegeben wobei die LCGO-Methode auf das Allylradikal mit unterschiedlichem Erfolg angewandt wird.

     

Accurate molecular electrostatic potentials based on modified PRDDO/M wave functions. I. Electrostatic potential derived atomic charges

A new approach for the calculation of electrostatic potential derived atomic charges is presented. Based on molecular orbital calculations in the PRDDO/M approximation, the new parametrized electrostatic potential (PESP) method is parametrized against ab initio MP2/6-31G** calculations. For a data set of 820 atoms in 145 molecules containing H, C, N. O, F, P, S, Cl, and Br (including hypervalent species), the PESP method achieves a mean absolute error of 0.037 e⁻ with a correlation coefficient of 0.990. Unlike other approximate approaches, no scaling factor is required to improve the agreement between PESP charges and the underlying ab initio results. PESP calculations are an order of magnitude faster than the simplest ab initio calculation (STO-3G) on large molecules while achieving a level of accuracy that rivals much more elaborate ab initio methods. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 18: 955–969, 1997     

Optimization of the Lennard-Jones parameters for a combined ab initio quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical potential using the 3-21G basis set

A combined ab initio quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (AI-QM/MM) potential for use in molecular modeling and simulation has been described. In this article, we summarize a procedure for deriving the empirical parameters embedded in a combined QM/MM model and suggest a set of Lennard-Jones parameters for the combined ab initio 3-21G and MM OPLS-TIP3P (AI-3/MM) potential. Interaction energies and geometrical parameters predicted with the AI-3/MM model for over 80 hydrogen-bonded complexes of organic compounds with water were found to be in good accord with ab initio 6-31G(d) results. We anticipate that the AI-3/MM potential should be reasonable for use in condensed phase simulations. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Density functional calculations of difluorodiazete structures with Gaussian-orbital-type approach

The comparison of local nonlocal and hybrid DFT methods with RHF , MP 2, CCSD , and CPF ab initio methods in generating geometries and relative energies of cis- and trans-difluorodiazete, SVWN , BLYP , BP 86, BECKE 3LYP , and BECKE 3P 86 DFT methods with 6-311 + g(2d) and 6-311 + + g(3df) basis sets. The geometries generated with RHF ab initio models are quite different from experimental values and energy evaluation prefers the wrong isomer. The hybrid methods give superior geometries while energies evaluated with nonlocal DFT methods are better than the one obtained with MP 2 or CCDS ab initio methods. The results suggest DFT as the method of choice of studying similar systems. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Ab initioLCAO-MO-SCF calculation of the electrostatic molecular potential of chlorpromazine and promazine

The electrostatic potential V( r ) arising from the ab initio LCAO-MO-SCF wave functions of chlorpromazine (CPZ ) and promazine (PZ ) has been calculated and discussed. In this approximation, the most probable sites of attack and reaction paths of electrophilic reagents are pointed out and compared. The analysis of V( r ) shows that the phenothiazine group has strong nucleophilic properties which are influenced by the phenothiazine substituent and that the electrostatic reactivity of CPZ and PZ is decidedly different near the phenothiazine substituent and similar near the side chain N atom. The dependence of V( r ) on the accuracy of the wave function has also been discussed by comparing some ab initio results on pyrrole, pyrazole, and imidazole obtained with a large basis set with an ab initio minimum basis set and with CNDO calculations.     

Toward similarity measures for macromolecular bodies: Medla test calculations for substituted benzene systems

A new method is proposed for the evaluation of numerical similarity measures for large molecules, defined in terms of their electron density (ED) distributions. The technique is based on the Molecular Electron Density Lego Assembler (MEDLA) approach, proposed earlier for the generation of ab initio quality electron densities for proteins and other macromolecules. The reliability of the approach is tested using a family of 13 substituted aromatic systems for which both standard ab initio electron density computations and the MEDLA technique are applicable. These tests also provide additional examples for evaluating the accuracy of the MEDLA technique. Electron densities for a series of 13 substituted benzenes were calculated using the standard ab initio method with STO-3G, 3-21G, and 6-31G** basis sets as well as the MEDLA approach with a 6-31G** database of electron density fragments. For each type of calculation, pairwise similarity measures of these compounds were calculated using a point-by-point numerical comparison of the EDs. From these results, 2D similarity maps were constructed, serving as an aid for quick visual comparisons for the entire molecular family. The MEDLA approach is shown to give virtually equivalent numerical similarity measures and similarity maps as the standard ab initio method using a 6-31G** basis set. By contrast, significant differences are found between the standard ab initio 6-31G** results and the standard ab initio results obtained with smaller STO-3G and 3-21G basis sets. These tests indicate that the MEDLA-based similarity measures faithfully mimic the actual, standard ab initio 6-31G** similarity measures, suggesting the MEDLA method as a reliable technique to assess the shape similarities of proteins and other macromolecules. The speed of the MEDLA computations allows rapid, pairwise comparisons of the actual EDs for a series of molecules, requiring no more computer time than other simplified, less detailed representations of molecular shape. The MEDLA method also reduces the need to store large volumes of numerical density data on disk, as these densities can be quickly recomputed when needed. For these reasons, the proposed MEDLA similarity analysis technique is likely to become a useful tool in computational drug design. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Hexafluoroacetone as Protecting and Activating Reagent. Glycosylated Malic, Citramalic, and Thiomalic Acid Derivatives, New Glycosylated Building Blocks for Drug Design [1]

Summary. Glycosylated -hydroxy and -mercapto acids have been synthesized starting from malic/citramalic/thiomalic acid and Ac₄--D-Glc-NH₂/Bzl₄--D-Glc-NH₂ using hexafluoroacetone as protecting and activating reagent.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Horst Wilde on the occasion of his 65^th birthday     

Statistical Adiabatic Channel Model Calculations of the Reaction of H Atoms and FO Radicals on Ab Initio Potential Energy Surfaces

The statistical adiabatic channel model has been used to calculate rate coefficients for the reaction between H atoms and FO radicals on potential energy surfaces based on density functional theory and ab initio calculations between 200 and 1000 K. The rate coefficient calculated at 300 K with the ab initio potential is in good agreement with a recently reported experimental value.     

Unusual conformational-determining interactions in oxymethylpyridines: An ab initio study and an improved method for refining molecular mechanics parameters

The conformational preferences of oxymethylpyridines have been investigated by ab initio calculations and compared to similar calculations for oxymethylbenzene. The C? O bond in the pyridine compounds was found to prefer eclipsing with a C? C bond in the ring, in agreement with previous observations but in disaccord with tentative MM2 calculations. The effect was most pronounced in the 2-substituted pyridine. The benzene compound, on the other hand, showed good agreement between the energies from MM2, MM3, and ab initio calculations. The conformational preferences are discussed in terms of stereoelectronic interactions. New MM2 and MM3 parameters were determined from ab initio calculations on nonstationary points on the energy hypersurface. The parameterization method is discussed. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A theoretical study on the structure and properties of phenothiazine derivatives and their radical cations

Semiempirical CNDO, AM1, PM3 and ab initio HF/STO-3G, HF/3-21G(d), and HF/6-31(d) methods were employed in the geometry optimization of the phenothiazine and the corresponding radical cation. The results obtained from the PM3 performances were as good as those from the ab initio calculations in the structure optimization of both phenothiazine and phenothiazine radical cation. The PM3 method was used to optimize the structures of a series of N-substituted phenothiazine derivatives and their radical cations. The PM3-optimized results were then analyzed with the ab initio calculation at the 6-311G(d,p) level, which yielded the total energy, frontier molecular orbitals, dipole moments, and charge and spin density distributions of the phenothiazine derivatives and their radical cations.     

Semiempirical treatment of electrostatic potentials and partial charges in combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical approaches

A semiempirical treatment of electrostatic potentials and partial charges is presented. These are the basic components needed for the evaluation of electrostatic interaction energies in combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical approaches. The procedure to compute electrostatic potentials uses AM1 and MNDO wave functions and is based on one previously suggested by Ford and Wang. It retains the NDDO approximation and is thus both easy to implement and computationally efficient. Partial atomic charges are derived from a semiempirical charge equilibration model, which is based on the principle of electronegativity equalization. Large sets of ab initio restricted Hartee-Fock (RHF/6-31G*) reference data have been used to calibrate the semiempirical models. Applying the final parameters (C, H, N, O), the ab initio electrostatic potentials are reproduced with an average accuracy of 20% (AM1) and 25% (MNDO), respectively, and the ab initio potential derived charges normally to within 0.1 e. In most cases our parameterized models are more accurate than the much more expensive quasi ab initio techniques, which employ deorthogonalized semiempirical wave functions and have generally been preferred in previous applications. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Protein structure prediction using a combination of sequence homology and global energy minimization: II. Energy functions

A protein energy surface is constructed. Validation is through applications of global energy minimization to surface loops of protein crystal structures. For 9 of 10 predictions, the native backbone conformation is identified correctly. Electrostatic energy is modeled as a pairwise sum of interactions between anisotropic atomic charge densities. Model repulsion energy has a softness similar to that seen in ab initio data. Intrinsic torsional energy is modeled as a sum over pairs of adjacent torsion angles of 2-dimensional Fourier series. Hydrophobic energy is that of a hydration shell model. The remainder of hydration free energy is obtained as the energetic effect of a continuous dielectric medium. Parameters are adjusted to reproduce the following data: a complete set of ab initio energy surfaces, meaning one for each pair of adjacent torsion angles of each blocked amino acid; experimental crystal structures and sublimation energies for nine model compounds; ab initio energies over 1014 conformations of 15 small-molecule dimers; and experimental hydration free energies for 48 model compounds. All ab initio data is at the Hartree–Fock/6–31G* level. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 19: 548–573, 1998