| Abstract: | Interactions between aromatic groups and backbone amide groups in protein environments are characterized both through data mining analyses of X‐ray protein structures and through ab initio molecular orbital calculations on a model complex. The data mining analyses of 1029 X‐ray protein structures elucidate the configurational characteristics of the interaction as well as the positions of the interacting moieties involved. On a statistical average, more than seven such interactions occur in a typical protein structure. The configurations of these interactions are restricted with the face‐to‐face orientation as the preferred arrangement. The interaction occurs mainly within a single peptide chain. Both α‐helix and β‐strand secondary structures provide an almost equal number of backbone amides to participate within this interaction. The interaction energy was evaluated with the supermolecular ab initio method at the MP2 level. It is shown that aromatic–amide(backbone) interactions identified in proteins can achieve a stabilization energy of 3.3 kcal/mol. The interaction involves the entirety of the backbone amide rather than only its amine portion. This study concludes that the interaction between aromatic and backbone amide groups is of general significance to protein structure due to its strength and common occurrence. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 80: 44–60, 2000 |
