Continuum solvent models solvation free energies

Within the framework of the same dielectric continuum model for the solvent, the Gibbs free energy of solvation of an ion of radius and charge may be estimated by calculating the electrostatic work done when hypothetically charging a sphere at constant radius from q = 0 q = This yields the Bom equation [13]... 

It is often the case that the solvent acts as a bulk medium, which affects the solute mainly by its dielectric properties. Therefore, as in the case of electrostatic shielding presented above, explicitly defined solvent molecules do not have to be present. In fact, the bulk can be considered as perturbing the molecule in the gas phase , leading to so-called continuum solvent models [14, 15]. To represent the electrostatic contribution to the free energy of solvation, the generalized Bom (GB) method is widely used. Wilhin the GB equation, AG equals the difference between and the vacuum Coulomb energy (Eq. (38)) ... 

The final class of methods that we shall consider for calculating the electrostatic compone of the solvation free energy are based upon the Poisson or the Poisson-Boltzmann equatior Ihese methods have been particularly useful for investigating the electrostatic properties biological macromolecules such as proteins and DNA. The solute is treated as a body of co stant low dielectric (usually between 2 and 4), and the solvent is modelled as a continuum high dielectric. The Poisson equation relates the variation in the potential (f> within a mediu of uniform dielectric constant e to the charge density p ... 

Solvent effects on chemical equilibria and reactions have been an important issue in physical organic chemistry. Several empirical relationships have been proposed to characterize systematically the various types of properties in protic and aprotic solvents. One of the simplest models is the continuum reaction field characterized by the dielectric constant, e, of the solvent, which is still widely used. Taft and coworkers [30] presented more sophisticated solvent parameters that can take solute-solvent hydrogen bonding and polarity into account. Although this parameter has been successfully applied to rationalize experimentally observed solvent effects, it seems still far from satisfactory to interpret solvent effects on the basis of microscopic infomation of the solute-solvent interaction and solvation free energy. 

Given the somewhat ad hoc nature of most specific schemes for evaluating the non-electrostatic components of the solvation free energy, a reliance on a simpler, if somewhat more empirical, scheme has become widely accepted within available continuum models. In essence, the more empirical approach assumes that the free energy associated with the non-electrostatic solvation of any atom will be characteristic for that atom (or group) and proportional to its solvent-exposed surface area. Thus, the molecular Geos may be computed simply as... 

Liquid/liquid partition constants within pharmaceutical chemistry have been of primary interest because of tlieir correlation with liquid/membrane partitioning behavior. A sufficiently fluid membrane may, in some sense, be regarded as a solvent. With such an outlook, tlie partitioning phenomenon may again be regarded as a liquid/liquid example, amenable to treatment with standard continuum techniques. Of course, accurate continuum solvation models typically rely on the availabihty of solvation free energies or bulk solvent properties in order to develop useful parameterizations, and such data may be sparse or non-existent for membranes. Some success, however, has been demonstrated for predicting such data either by intuitive or statistical analysis (see, for example. Chambers etal. 1999). 

Much like the RISM method, the LD approach is intermediate between a continuum model and an explicit model. In the limit of an infinite dipole density, the uniform continuum model is recovered, but with a density equivalent to, say, the density of water molecules in liquid water, some character of the explicit solvent is present as well, since the magnitude of the dipoles and their polarizability are chosen to mimic the particular solvent (Papazyan and Warshel 1997). Since the QM/MM interaction in this case is purely electrostatic, other non-bonded interaction terms must be included in order to compute, say, solvation free energies. When the same surface-tension approach as that used in many continuum models is adopted (Section 11.3.2), the resulting solvation free energies are as accurate as those from pure continuum models (Florian and Warshel 1997). Unlike atomistic models, however, the use of a fixed grid does not permit any real information about solvent structure to be obtained, and indeed the fixed grid introduces issues of how best to place the solute into the grid, where to draw the solute boundary, etc. These latter limitations have curtailed the application of the LD model. 

Support to these assumptions has recently come from the analysis of the coupling between electrostatic and dispersion-repulsion contributions to the solvation of a series of neutral solutes in different solvents [31]. It has been found that the explicit inclusion of both electrostatic and dispersion-repulsion forces have little effect on both the electrostatic component of the solvation free energy and the induced dipole moment, as can be noted from inspection of the data reported in Table 3.1. These results therefore support the separate calculation of electrostatic and dispersion-repulsion components of the solvation free energy, as generally adopted in QM-SCRF continuum models. 

A key issue in any continuum model is the definition of the solute-solvent interface, since it largely modulates the electrostatic contribution to the solvation free energy. Generally, cavities are built up from the intersection of atom-centred spheres, whose size is determined from fixed standard atomic radii [32-36], However, other strategies have been proposed, such as the use of variable atomic radii, whose values depend... 

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