Molecular mechanical force fields

A number of issues need to be addressed before this method will become a routine tool applicable to problems as the conformational equilibrium of protein kinase. E.g. the accuracy of the force field, especially the combination of Poisson-Boltzmann forces and molecular mechanics force field, remains to be assessed. The energy surface for the opening of the two kinase domains in Pig. 2 indicates that intramolecular noncovalent energies are overestimated compared to the interaction with solvent. 

Figure 7-8. Bonded (upper row) and non-bonded (lower row) contributions to a typioal molecular mechanics force field potential energy function. The latter two types of Interactions can also occur within the same molecule.

The mathematical formulation of a typical molecular mechanics force field, which is also called the potential energy function (PEF), is shown in Eq. (18). Do not wony yet about the necessary mathematical expressions - they will be explained in detail in the following sections ... 

Many problems in force field investigations arise from the calculation of Coulomb interactions with fixed charges, thereby neglecting possible mutual polarization. With that obvious drawback in mind, Ulrich Sternberg developed the COSMOS (Computer Simulation of Molecular Structures) force field [30], which extends a classical molecular mechanics force field by serai-empirical charge calculation based on bond polarization theory [31, 32]. This approach has the advantage that the atomic charges depend on the three-dimensional structure of the molecule. Parts of the functional form of COSMOS were taken from the PIMM force field of Lindner et al., which combines self-consistent field theory for r-orbitals ( nr-SCF) with molecular mechanics [33, 34]. 

T. Fox, C. Chipot, A. PohorUle, The development/application of a minimalisf organic/biochemical molecular mechanic force field using a combination of ab-initio calculations and experimental data, in Computer Simulation of Biomolecular Systems. 

A descriptor for the 3D arrangement of atoms in a molceulc can be derived in a similar manner. The Cartesian coordinates of the atoms in a molecule can be calculated by semi-empirical quantum mechanical or molecular mechanics (force field) methods, For larger data sets, fast 3D structure generators are available that combine data- and rule-driven methods to calculate Cartesian coordinates from the connection table of a molecule (e.g., CORINA [10]). 

Th is discussion focuses on th e individual compon en ts of a typical molecular mechanics force field. It illustrates the mathematical functions used, wdi y those functions are chosen, and the circiim -Stan ces u n der wh ich the fun ction s become poor approxirn atiori s. Part 2 of th is book, Theory and Melhadx, includes details on the implementation of the MM+,. AM BHR, RlO-g and OPl.S force fields in HyperChem. 

TlypcrC hcm oilers four molecular mechanics force fields MM+, AMBER, BIO+, and OPES (sec References on page 106). To run a molecular mechanics calciilaLion. yon miisi lirsi choose a force Eeld. The following sections discuss considerations in choosing a force field. 

For biological polymers, molecular mechanics force fields arc not well substantiated by experirn eri tal data. You should be cautious about relying on predictions from thesc calculations. 

Molecular mechanics force fields have much information built into them and can be accurate for the molecules used in their param eten/ation. For molecules outside the limited scope for 40. Dewar. J. S. Dicier, K. M../. Am. Chem. Soc. 108 807. ), 1086. 

Some General Features of Molecular Mechanics Force Fields... 

Landis C R, D M Root and T Cleveland 1995. Molecular Mechanics Force Fields for Modeling Inorgani and Organometallic Compounds. In Lipkowitz K B and D B Boyd (Editors). Reviews in Compute tional Chemistry Volume 6. New York, VCH Publishers, pp. 73-148. 

Halgren T A 1992. Representation of van der Waals (vdW) Interactions in Molecular Mechanics Force Fields Potential Form, Combination Rules, and vdW Parameters. Journal of the American Chemical Society 114 7827-7843. 

FIGURE 6.2 Hannonic, cubic, and Morse potential curves used to describe the energy due to bond stretching in molecular mechanics force fields. 

Most researchers do not parameterize force fields because many good force fields have already been developed. On rare occasions, a researcher will add an additional atom as described in Chapter 29. The following are some commonly used molecular mechanics force fields. Many of these have been implemented in more than one software package. There tend to be minor differences in the implementation leading to small differences in results from one software package to another. 

It is occasionally desirable to add new parameters to a molecular mechanics force field. This might mean adding an element that is not in the parameterization set or correctly describing a particular atom in a specihc class of molecules. 

A number of molecular mechanics force fields have been parameterized for specific organic systems, such as proteins or hydrocarbons. There are also a... 

Molecular mechanics force fields are sometimes parameterized to describe lanthanides and actinides. This has been effective in describing the shape of the molecule, but does not go very far toward giving systematic energies. A few semiempirical methods have been parameterized for these elements, but they have not seen widespread use. 

Nearly all liquid simulations have been done using molecular mechanics force fields to describe the interactions between molecules. A few rare simulations have been completed with orbital-based methods. It is expected that it will still be a long time before orbital-based simulations represent a majority of the studies done due to the incredibly large amount of computational resources necessary for these methods. 

Ah initio calculations of polymer properties are either simulations of oligomers or band-structure calculations. Properties often computed with ah initio methods are conformational energies, polarizability, hyperpolarizability, optical properties, dielectric properties, and charge distributions. Ah initio calculations are also used as a spot check to verify the accuracy of molecular mechanics methods for the polymer of interest. Such calculations are used to parameterize molecular mechanics force fields when existing methods are insulficient, which does not happen too often. 

The molecular mechanics force fields available include MM+, OPLS, BIO+, and AMBER. Parameters missing from the force field will be automatically estimated. The user has some control over cutoff distances for various terms in the energy expression. Solvent molecules can be included along with periodic boundary conditions. The molecular mechanics calculations tested ran without difficulties. Biomolecule computational abilities are aided by functions for superimposing molecules, conformation searching, and QSAR descriptor calculation. 

AMBER (assisted model building with energy refinement) a molecular mechanics force field... 

Cartesian coordinates system for locating points in space based on three coordinates, which are usually given the symbols x, y, z or i, j, k CBS (complete basis set) an ah initio method CC (coupled cluster) a correlated ah initio method CFF (consistent force field) a class of molecular mechanics force fields CFMM (continuous fast multipole method) a method for fast DFT calculations on large molecules... 

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