Biomolecules dynamics

J. Jortner and M. Bixon, in Electron Transfer From Isolated Molecules to Biomolecules, Dynamics and Spectroscopy, Advances in Chemical Physics, Vols. 106 and 107, Wiley, New York, 1999. 

Whereas relaxation experiments to probe biomolecule dynamics have become popular only within the past 10 years, HX experiments have been performed on proteins for many decades. Provided that the experiment is carried out under conditions favoring the native protein state, thermodynamics of conformational flnctnations that lead to exchange of protons with solvent (AGhx) can be determined using the following expression ... 

Since the stochastic Langevin force mimics collisions among solvent molecules and the biomolecule (the solute), the characteristic vibrational frequencies of a molecule in vacuum are dampened. In particular, the low-frequency vibrational modes are overdamped, and various correlation functions are smoothed (see Case [35] for a review and further references). The magnitude of such disturbances with respect to Newtonian behavior depends on 7, as can be seen from Fig. 8 showing computed spectral densities of the protein BPTI for three 7 values. Overall, this effect can certainly alter the dynamics of a system, and it remains to study these consequences in connection with biomolecular dynamics. 

In an atomic level simulation, the bond stretch vibrations are usually the fastest motions in the molecular dynamics of biomolecules, so the evolution of the stretch vibration is taken as the reference propagator with the smallest time step. The nonbonded interactions, including van der Waals and electrostatic forces, are the slowest varying interactions, and a much larger time-step may be used. The bending, torsion and hydrogen-bonding forces are treated as intermediate time-scale interactions. 

Optimized potentials for liquid simulation (OPES) was designed for modeling bulk liquids. It has also seen significant use in modeling the molecular dynamics of biomolecules. OPLS uses five valence terms, one of which is an electrostatic term, but no cross terms. 

Focuses on force field calculations for understanding the dynamic properties of proteins and nucleic acids. Provides a useful introduction to several computational techniques, including molecular mechanics minimization and molecular dynamics. Includes discussions of research involving structural changes and short time scale dynamics of these biomolecules, and the influence of solvent in these processes. 

Empirical energy functions can fulfill the demands required by computational studies of biochemical and biophysical systems. The mathematical equations in empirical energy functions include relatively simple terms to describe the physical interactions that dictate the structure and dynamic properties of biological molecules. In addition, empirical force fields use atomistic models, in which atoms are the smallest particles in the system rather than the electrons and nuclei used in quantum mechanics. These two simplifications allow for the computational speed required to perform the required number of energy calculations on biomolecules in their environments to be attained, and, more important, via the use of properly optimized parameters in the mathematical models the required chemical accuracy can be achieved. The use of empirical energy functions was initially applied to small organic molecules, where it was referred to as molecular mechanics [4], and more recently to biological systems [2,3]. 

Good reviews of the application of dynamic simulation methods to biomolecules can be found in the books by Brooks et al. [1] and McCammon and Harvey [2]. Good short reviews on this topic can also be found in Refs. 3-5. More detailed discussions of dynamic simulation methodologies can be found in books by Allen and Tildesley [6], Frenkel and Smit [7], and Rapaport [8] and in the review by van Gunsteren [9]. 

Listed is a collection of general-purpose molecular dynamics computer simulation packages for the study of molecular systems. The packages include a wide variety of functionalities for the analysis and simulation of biomolecules. In addition, they contain integrated force fields. 

GROMOS A general-purpose molecular dynamics computer simulation package for the study of biomolecules http //igc.ethz.ch/gromos/weicome.htmi GROMACS (GROningen MAchine for Chemical Simulations) http //rugmdO. chem. rug.ni/ gmx/... 

In the intervening years, molecular dynamics simulations of biomolecules have undergone an explosive development and been applied to a wide range of problems [3,4]. Two attributes of molecular dynamics simulations have played an essential role in their increasing use. The first is that simulations provide individual particle motions as a function of time so they can answer detailed questions about the properties of a system, often more easily than experiments. For many aspects of biomolecule function, it is these details... 

I am very pleased to have been given the opportunity to contribute a Foreword to this very useful book. It is a particular pleasure for me to do so because all the editors and fifteen of the authors are alumni of my research group at Harvard, where molecular dynamics simulations of biomolecules originated. 

The first dynamical simulation of a protein based on a detailed atomic model was reported in 1977. Since then, the uses of various theoretical and computational approaches have contributed tremendously to our understanding of complex biomolecular systems such as proteins, nucleic acids, and bilayer membranes. By providing detailed information on biomolecular systems that is often experimentally inaccessible, computational approaches based on detailed atomic models can help in the current efforts to understand the relationship of the strucmre of biomolecules to their function. For that reason, they are now considered to be an integrated and essential component of research in modern biology, biochemistry, and biophysics. 

One of the most important and exciting advances in modern biochemistry has been the application of spectroscopic methods, which measure the absorption and emission of energy of different frequencies by molecules and atoms. Spectroscopic studies of proteins, nucleic acids, and other biomolecules are providing many new insights into the structure and dynamic processes in these molecules. 

Clore, G.M. Q onenborn, A.M. In Structure, Dynamics and Function of Biomolecules Proc. First EBSA Workshop, SaltsjiJbaden Ehrenberg, A. et al, Eds. Springer Berlin, 1987, p 108. 

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