scholarly journals Learning to Model G-Quadruplexes: Current Methods and Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iker Ortiz de Luzuriaga ◽  
Xabier Lopez ◽  
Adrià Gil3
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Small Molecules ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Square Planar ◽  
Explicit Simulation ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

G-quadruplexes have raised considerable interest during the past years for the development of therapies against cancer. These noncanonical structures of DNA may be found in telomeres and/or oncogene promoters, and it has been observed that the stabilization of such G-quadruplexes may disturb tumor cell growth. Nevertheless, the mechanisms leading to folding and stabilization of these G-quadruplexes are still not well established, and they are the focus of much current work in this field. In seminal works, stabilization was observed to be produced by cations. However, subsequent studies showed that different kinds of small molecules, from planar and nonplanar organic molecules to square-planar and octahedral metal complexes, may also lead to the stabilization of G-quadruplexes. Thus, the comprehension and rationalization of the interaction of these small molecules with G-quadruplexes are also important topics of current interest in medical applications. To shed light on the questions arising from the literature on the formation of G-quadruplexes, their stabilization, and their interaction with small molecules, synergies between experimental studies and computational works are needed. In this review, we mainly focus on in silico approaches and provide a broad compilation of different leading studies carried out to date by different computational methods. We divide these methods into two main categories: ( a) classical methods, which allow for long-timescale molecular dynamics simulations and the corresponding analysis of dynamical information, and ( b) quantum methods (semiempirical, quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics, and density functional theory methods), which allow for the explicit simulation of the electronic structure of the system but, in general, are not capable of being used in long-timescale molecular dynamics simulations and, therefore, give a more static picture of the relevant processes. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biophysics, Volume 50 is May 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Graphene adlayer growth between nonepitaxial graphene and Ni(111) substrate: a promising theoretical scheme

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijuan Meng ◽  
Jinlian Lu ◽  
Yujie Bai ◽  
Lili Liu ◽  
Tang Jingyi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Density Functional Theory ◽  
Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Vapor Deposition ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Density Functional Theory Calculations ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Understanding the fundamentals of chemical vapor deposition bilayer graphene growth is crucial for its synthesis. By employing density functional theory calculations and classical molecular dynamics simulations, we have investigated the...

scholarly journals Molecular dynamics simulations and experimental studies reveal differential permeability of withaferin-A and withanone across the model cell membrane

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renu Wadhwa ◽  
Neetu Singh Yadav ◽  
Shashank P. Katiyar ◽  
Tomoko Yaguchi ◽  
Chohee Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Cell Membrane ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Bilayer Membrane ◽  
Withaferin A ◽  
Head Group ◽  
Polar Head Group ◽  
Natural Drugs ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

AbstractPoor bioavailability due to the inability to cross the cell membrane is one of the major reasons for the failure of a drug in clinical trials. We have used molecular dynamics simulations to predict the membrane permeability of natural drugs—withanolides (withaferin-A and withanone) that have similar structures but remarkably differ in their cytotoxicity. We found that whereas withaferin-A, could proficiently transverse through the model membrane, withanone showed weak permeability. The free energy profiles for the interaction of withanolides with the model bilayer membrane revealed that whereas the polar head group of the membrane caused high resistance for the passage of withanone, the interior of the membrane behaves similarly for both withanolides. The solvation analysis further revealed that the high solvation of terminal O5 oxygen of withaferin-A was the major driving force for its high permeability; it interacted with the phosphate group of the membrane that led to its smooth passage across the bilayer. The computational predictions were tested by raising and recruiting unique antibodies that react to withaferin-A and withanone. The time-lapsed analyses of control and treated cells demonstrated higher permeation of withaferin-A as compared to withanone. The concurrence between the computation and experimental results thus re-emphasised the use of computational methods for predicting permeability and hence bioavailability of natural drug compounds in the drug development process.

Cluster, Surface and Bulk Properties of ZnCd Binary Alloys: Molecular-Dynamics Simulations

2005 ◽  
Vol 502 ◽  
pp. 51-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakir Erkoc
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Bulk Materials ◽  
Bulk Properties ◽  
Atom Clusters ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Mixed Clusters ◽  
Stable Structures

The structural and electronic properties of isolated neutral ZnmCdn clusters for m+n £ 3 have been investigated by performing density functional theory calculations at B3LYP level. The optimum geometries, vibrational frequencies, electronic structures, and the possible dissosiation channels of the clusters considered have been obtained. An empirical many-body potential energy function (PEF), which comprices two- and three-body atomic interactions, has been developed to investigate the structural features and energetics of ZnmCdn (m+n=3,4) microclusters. The most stable structures were found to be triangular for the three-atom clusters and tetrahedral for the four-atom clusters. On the other hand, the structural features and energetics of Znn-mCdm (n=7,8) microclusters, and Zn50, Cd50, Zn25Cd25, Zn12Cd38, and Zn38Cd12 nanoparticles have been investigated by performing molecular-dynamics computer simulations using the developed PEF. The most stable structures were found to be compact and three-dimensional for all elemental and mixed clusters. An interesting structural feature of the mixed clusters is that Zn and Cd atoms do not mix in mixed clusters, they come together almost without mixing. Surface and bulk properties of Zn, Cd, and ZnCd systems have been investigated too by performing molecular-dynamics simulations using the developed PEF. Surface reconstruction and multilayer relaxation on clean surfaces, adatom on surface, substitutional atom on surface and bulk materials, and vacancy on surface and bulk materials have been studied extensively.

Density-functional-based molecular-dynamics simulations of molten salts

2005 ◽  
Vol 123 (13) ◽  
pp. 134510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandrine Hazebroucq ◽  
Gérard S. Picard ◽  
Carlo Adamo ◽  
Thomas Heine ◽  
Sibylle Gemming ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Molten Salts ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

scholarly journals Molecular Insights into Cage Occupancy of Hydrogen Hydrate: A Computational Study

Processes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ma ◽  
Zhong ◽  
Liu ◽  
Zhong ◽  
Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Hydrogen Storage ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Storage Capacity ◽  
Computational Study ◽  
Density Functional Theory Calculations ◽  
Hydrogen Storage Capacity ◽  
Large Cage ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the hydrogen storage capacity in the sII hydrate. Calculation results show that the optimum hydrogen storage capacity is ~5.6 wt%, with the double occupancy in the small cage and quintuple occupancy in the large cage. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that these multiple occupied hydrogen hydrates can occur at mild conditions, and their stability will be further enhanced by increasing the pressure or decreasing the temperature. Our work highlights that the hydrate is a promising material for storing hydrogen.

scholarly journals Multiscale QM/MM Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Trimeric Major Light-Harvesting Complex II

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayan Maity ◽  
Vangelis Daskalakis ◽  
Marcus Elstner ◽  
Ulrich Kleinekathöfer
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Light Harvesting ◽  
Higher Plants ◽  
Tight Binding ◽  
Spectral Densities ◽  
Light Harvesting Complex ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Photosynthetic processes are driven by sunlight. Too little of it and the photosynthetic machinery cannot produce the reductive power to drive the anabolic pathways. Too much sunlight and the machinery can get damaged. In higher plants, the major Light Harvesting Complex (LHCII) efficiently absorbs the light energy, but can also dissipate it when in excess (quenching). In order to study the dynamics related to the quenching process but also the exciton dynamics in general, one needs to accurately determine the so-called spectral density which describes the coupling between the relevant pigment modes and the environmental degrees of freedom. To this end, Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations in a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) fashion utilizing the density functional based tight binding (DFTB) method have been performed for the ground state dynamics. Subsequently, the time-dependent extension of the long-range-corrected DFTB scheme has been employed for the excited state calculations of the individual chlorophyll-a molecules in the LHCII complex. The analysis of this data resulted in spectral densities showing an astonishing agreement with the experimental counterpart in this rather large system. This consistency with an experimental observable also supports the accuracy, robustness, and reliability of the present multi-scale scheme. In addition, the resulting spectral densities and site energies were used to determine the exciton transfer rate within a special pigment pair consisting of a chlorophyll-a and a carotenoid molecule which is assumed to play a role in the balance between the light harvesting and quenching modes.

scholarly journals First-Principles-Based Interatomic Potential for SI and Its Thermal Conductivity

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keivan Esfarjani ◽  
Gang Chen ◽  
Asegun Henry
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Thermal Properties ◽  
Force Field ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
First Principles ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Interatomic Potential ◽  
Force Constants ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Based on first-principles density-functional calculations, we have developed and tested a force-field for silicon, which can be used for molecular dynamics simulations and the calculation of its thermal properties. This force field uses the exact Taylor expansion of the total energy about the equilibrium positions up to 4th order. In this sense, it becomes systematically exact for small enough displacements, and can reproduce the thermodynamic properties of Si with high fidelity. Having the harmonic force constants, one can easily calculate the phonon spectrum of this system. The cubic force constants, on the other hand, will allow us to compute phonon lifetimes and scattering rates. Results on equilibrium Green-Kubo molecular dynamics simulations of thermal conductivity as well as an alternative calculation of the latter based on the relaxation-time approximation will be reported. The accuracy and ease of computation of the lattice thermal conductivity using these methods will be compared. This approach paves the way for the construction of accurate bulk interatomic potentials database, from which lattice dynamics and thermal properties can be calculated and used in larger scale simulation methods such as Monte Carlo.

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