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Efficient evaluation of the effective dielectric function of a macromolecule in aqueous solution
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Journal: J Comput Chem
Year: 2003
Volume: 24
Issue: 15
Pages: 1936-1949
DOI: 10.1002/jcc.10317
Type of Publication: Journal Article
Keywords:
Electric Conductivity; Macromolecular Substances; Mathematics; Models, Biological; Models, Theoretical; Protein Conformation; Proteins; Water
Abstract:
We propose an analytical approach to calculate the effective dielectric function of proteins in aqueous solution. The screening effect is quantified by a measure of enclosure which is based on the distribution of solute atomic volumes around a pair of charges in a macromolecule. For protein conformations that vary significantly in size and shape, a comparison with finite difference Poisson calculations shows that pair interaction energies, their sums and solvation energies are well reproduced. The approach rivals the speed of simple distance dependent dielectric functions and the accuracy of the generalized Born model.