Continuum electrostatic energies of macromolecules in aqueous solutions

TitleContinuum electrostatic energies of macromolecules in aqueous solutions
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1997
AuthorsScarsi M., Apostolakis J., Caflisch A.
JournalThe Journal of Physical Chemistry A
Volume101
Issue43
Pagination8098-8106
Date PublishedOct 23, 1997
Type of ArticleResearch Article
Keywordscontinuum electrostatics, energy, generalized Born approximation, molecular surface, Poisson equation, solvation
Abstract

The efficient evaluation of electrostatic energies of macromolecules in aqueous solutions is useful for many problems in theoretical structural biology. A continuum method based on the generalized Born (GB) approximation is implemented here. It is shown that the choice of the dielectric discontinuity surface is critical for obtaining correct electrostatic energies of molecules in solution. In addition, it is demonstrated that an electrostatic model validated on solvation energies (vacuum to water transfer) might not be appropriate for energies in solution and might not yield correct energy ranking of ligand/protein complexes. The agreement between the GB approach and the finite difference solution of the Poisson equation is shown to be very good for both the molecular and the solvent accessible surface. The discrepancies between the GB and the finite difference approach are much lower than the ones due to the use of different surfaces.

URLhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jp9714227
DOI10.1021/jp9714227
pubindex

0011

Alternate JournalJ. Phys. Chem. A
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