scholarly journals Computational study of the dissolution of cellulose into single chains: the role of the solvent and agitation

Cellulose ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eivind Bering ◽  
Jonathan Ø. Torstensen ◽  
Anders Lervik ◽  
Astrid S. de Wijn

Abstract We investigate the dissolution mechanism of cellulose using molecular dynamics simulations in both water and a mixture solvent consisting of water with Na$$^+$$ + , OH$$^-$$ - and urea. As a first computational study of its kind, we apply periodic external forces that mimic agitation of the suspension. Without the agitation, the bundles do not dissolve, neither in water nor solvent. In the solvent mixture the bundle swells with significant amounts of urea entering the bundle, as well as more water than in the bundles subjected to pure water. We also find that the mixture solution stabilizes cellulose sheets, while in water these immediately collapse into bundles. Under agitation the bundles dissolve more easily in the solvent mixture than in water, where sheets of cellulose remain that are bound together through hydrophobic interactions. Our findings highlight the importance of urea in the solvent, as well as the hydrophobic interactions, and are consistent with experimental results. Graphical abstract

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eivind Bering ◽  
Jonathan Torstensen ◽  
Anders Lervik ◽  
Astrid S. de Wijn

Abstract We investigate the dissolution mechanism of cellulose using molecular dynamics simulations in both water and a mixture solvent consisting of water with Na + , OH - and urea. As a first computational study of its kind, we apply periodic external forces that mimic agitation of the suspension. Without the agitation, the bundles do not dissolve, neither in water nor solvent. In the solvent mixture the bundle swells up with significant amounts of urea entering the bundle, as well as more water than in the bundles subjected to pure water. We also find that the mixture solution stabilizes cellulose sheets, while in water these immediately collapse into bundles. Under agitation the bundles dissolve more easily in the solvent mixture than in water, where sheets of cellulose remain that are bound together through hydrophobic interactions. Our findings highlight the importance of urea in the solvent, as well as the hydrophobic interactions, and are consistent with experimental results.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean A. Newmister ◽  
Kinshuk Raj Srivastava ◽  
Rosa V. Espinoza ◽  
Kersti Caddell Haatveit ◽  
Yogan Khatri ◽  
...  

Biocatalysis offers an expanding and powerful strategy to construct and diversify complex molecules by C-H bond functionalization. Due to their high selectivity, enzymes have become an essential tool for C-H bond functionalization and offer complementary reactivity to small-molecule catalysts. Hemoproteins, particularly cytochromes P450, have proven effective for selective oxidation of unactivated C-H bonds. Previously, we reported the in vitro characterization of an oxidative tailoring cascade in which TamI, a multifunctional P450 functions co-dependently with the TamL flavoprotein to catalyze regio- and stereoselective hydroxylations and epoxidation to yield tirandamycin A and tirandamycin B. TamI follows a defined order including 1) C10 hydroxylation, 2) C11/C12 epoxidation, and 3) C18 hydroxylation. Here we present a structural, biochemical, and computational investigation of TamI to understand the molecular basis of its substrate binding, diverse reactivity, and specific reaction sequence. The crystal structure of TamI in complex with tirandamycin C together with molecular dynamics simulations and targeted mutagenesis suggest that hydrophobic interactions with the polyene chain of its natural substrate are critical for molecular recognition. QM/MM calculations and molecular dynamics simulations of TamI with variant substrates provided detailed information on the molecular basis of sequential reactivity, and pattern of regio- and stereo-selectivity in catalyzing the three-step oxidative cascade.<br>


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 2964-2971
Author(s):  
Bernadeta Jasiok ◽  
Mirosław Chorążewski ◽  
Eugene B. Postnikov ◽  
Claude Millot

Thermophysical properties of liquid dibromomethane are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations between 268 and 328 K at pressures up to 3000 bar. Notably, the isotherms of the isobaric thermal expansivity cross around 800 bar.


Soft Matter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 2942-2956
Author(s):  
Rishabh D. Guha ◽  
Ogheneovo Idolor ◽  
Katherine Berkowitz ◽  
Melissa Pasquinelli ◽  
Landon R. Grace

We investigated the effect of temperature variation on the secondary bonding interactions between absorbed moisture and epoxies with different morphologies using molecular dynamics simulations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 5984-5991
Author(s):  
Letizia Tavagnacco ◽  
Ester Chiessi ◽  
Emanuela Zaccarelli

By using extensive all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of an atactic linear polymer chain, we unveil the role of pressure in the coil-to-globule transition of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM).


Langmuir ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (42) ◽  
pp. 11543-11553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Li ◽  
Deshuai Yang ◽  
Trevor R. Fisher ◽  
Qi Qiao ◽  
Zhen Yang ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 110 (7) ◽  
pp. 3323-3329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Said Hamad ◽  
Changman Moon ◽  
C. Richard A. Catlow ◽  
Ashley T. Hulme ◽  
Sarah L. Price

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