MD simulation of the Na+-phenylalanine complex in water: competition between cation-pi interaction and aqueous solvation

The competition between cation-pi interaction and aqueous solvation for the Na+ ion has been investigated by molecular dynamics simulations, using the phenylalanine amino acid as the test pi system. Starting from one of the best standard force fields, we have developed new parameters that significantly improve the agreement with experimental and high quality quantum mechanical results for the complexes of Na+ with phenylalanine, benzene, and water. The modified force field performs very well in forecasting energy and geometry of cation coordination for the complexes. Next, analysis of MD trajectories and steered MD simulations indicate that the Na+-phenylalanine complex survives for a significant time in aqueous solution and that the free energy barrier opposing dissociation of the complex is sizable. Finally, we analyze the role of different intermolecular interactions in determining the preference for cation-pi bonding with respect to aqueous solvation. We thus confirm that the Na+-phenylalanine stabilization energy may overcome the interactions with water.