The first microsolvation step for furans: New experiments and benchmarking strategies.

The site-specific first microsolvation step of furan and some of its derivatives with methanol is explored to benchmark the ability of quantum-chemical methods to describe the structure, energetics, and vibrational spectrum at low temperature. Infrared and microwave spectra in supersonic jet expansions are used to quantify the docking preference and some relevant quantum states of the model complexes. Microwave spectroscopy strictly rules out in-plane docking of methanol as opposed to the top coordination of the aromatic ring.

Far-IR and UV spectral signatures of controlled complexation and microhydration of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon acenaphthene.

In this work we report on the experimental and theoretical investigations of the progressional complexation of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) acenaphthene with itself and with water. In the interstellar medium, PAH complexes are an important link between molecular gas and solid state configurations of carbon, and in the form of grains they are postulated to serve as chemical catalysts. However, no direct detection of PAHs or their (microhydrated) complexes in interstellar space has been achieved as of yet.

The furan microsolvation blind challenge for quantum chemical methods: First steps.

Herein we present the results of a blind challenge to quantum chemical methods in the calculation of dimerization preferences in the low temperature gas phase. The target of study was the first step of the microsolvation of furan, 2-methylfuran and 2,5-dimethylfuran with methanol. The dimers were investigated through IR spectroscopy of a supersonic jet expansion.

HYDROPHOBE Challenge: A Joint Experimental and Computational Study on the Host-Guest Binding of Hydrocarbons to Cucurbiturils, Allowing Explicit Evaluation of Guest Hydration Free-Energy Contributions.

The host-guest complexation of hydrocarbons (22 guest molecules) with cucurbit[7]uril was investigated in aqueous solution using the indicator displacement strategy. The binding constants (10-10 M) increased with guest size, pointing to the hydrophobic effect and dispersion interactions as driving forces. The measured affinities provide unique benchmark data for the binding of neutral guest molecules.

Using dispersion-corrected density functional theory to understand supramolecular binding thermodynamics.

A recently published theoretical approach employing a nondynamic structure model using dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D3) to calculate equilibrium free energies of association (Chem. Eur. J.

Blind prediction of binding affinities for charged supramolecular host-guest systems: achievements and shortcomings of DFT-D3.

Association free energies ΔGa are calculated for two different types of host-guest systems, the rigid cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) and the basket shaped octa-acid (OA), and a number of charged guest molecules each by quantum chemical methods from first principles in the context of a recent blind test challenge (SAMPL4). For CB7, the overall agreement between theory and experiment is excellent. In comparison with all other submitted calculated relative ΔGa,rel values for this part of the blind test, our results ranked on top.

Theoretical study of the stacking behavior of selected polycondensed aromatic hydrocarbons with various symmetries.

Stacked dimers of four polycondensed aromatic hydrocarbons, with structures varying from high to reduced symmetries, have been calculated with dispersion-corrected density functional theory. The configurations of the stacked dimers are readily classified by two in-plane displacements and a relative rotation. The potential energy surface in these three coordinates was calculated with rigid monomers and appears to be slightly flat.

Fully ab initio protein-ligand interaction energies with dispersion corrected density functional theory.

Dispersion corrected density functional theory (DFT-D3) is used for fully ab initio protein-ligand (PL) interaction energy calculation via molecular fractionation with conjugated caps (MFCC) and applied to PL complexes from the PDB comprising 3680, 1798, and 1060 atoms. Molecular fragments with n amino acids instead of one in the original MFCC approach are considered, thereby allowing for estimating the three-body and higher many-body terms. n > 1 is recommended both in terms of accuracy and efficiency of MFCC.

Protein-ligand interaction energies with dispersion corrected density functional theory and high-level wave function based methods.

With dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D3) intermolecular interaction energies for a diverse set of noncovalently bound protein-ligand complexes from the Protein Data Bank are calculated. The focus is on major contacts occurring between the drug molecule and the binding site. Generalized gradient approximation (GGA), meta-GGA, and hybrid functionals are used.

A consistent and accurate ab initio parametrization of density functional dispersion correction (DFT-D) for the 94 elements H-Pu.

The method of dispersion correction as an add-on to standard Kohn-Sham density functional theory (DFT-D) has been refined regarding higher accuracy, broader range of applicability, and less empiricism. The main new ingredients are atom-pairwise specific dispersion coefficients and cutoff radii that are both computed from first principles. The coefficients for new eighth-order dispersion terms are computed using established recursion relations.

Cooperativity in noncovalent interactions of biologically relevant molecules.

Using a recently published benchmark MP2 database of nucleic acid base trimers, the three-body contribution to the interaction energy (TBE, also termed (non)cooperativity) as a function of base composition and complex geometry is studied. In 28 out of 141 cases (or 20%), the counterpoise-corrected MP2/TZV(2df,2pd) TBE exceeds 1 kcal mol(-1). The TBE is below 1 kcal mol(-1) for all trimers in the benchmark set consisting of U, T, and A, irrespective of the geometrical arrangement in the database.

Analysis of non-covalent interactions in (bio)organic molecules using orbital-partitioned localized MP2.

Localized molecular orbitals (LMO) are used as basis for an MP2 treatment (LMP2) of electron correlation energies. The major aim is an improved understanding of the non-covalent interactions in large molecules with an emphasis on intra-molecular dispersion effects. A partitioning of the inter-fragment electron correlation energy into electron pairs of different orbital type (i.

Structures and interaction energies of stacked graphene-nucleobase complexes.

The noncovalent interactions of nucleobases and hydrogen-bonded (Watson-Crick) base-pairs on graphene are investigated with the DFT-D method, i.e., all-electron density functional theory (DFT) in generalized gradient approximation (GGA) combined with an empirical correction for dispersion (van der Waals) interactions.

Is spin-component scaled second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory an appropriate method for the study of noncovalent interactions in molecules?

Testing of the spin-component scaled second-order Møller-Plesset (SCS-MP2) method for the computation of noncovalent interaction energies is done with a database of 165 biologically relevant complexes. The effects of the spin-scaling procedure (i.e.

Density functional theory with dispersion corrections for supramolecular structures, aggregates, and complexes of (bio)organic molecules.

Kohn-Sham density functional theory (KS-DFT) is nowadays the most widely used quantum chemical method for electronic structure calculations in chemistry and physics. Its further application in e.g.

Density functional theory including dispersion corrections for intermolecular interactions in a large benchmark set of biologically relevant molecules.

Density functional theory including dispersion corrections (DFT-D) is applied to calculate intermolecular interaction energies in an extensive benchmark set consisting mainly of DNA base pairs and amino acid pairs, for which CCSD(T) complete basis set limit estimates are available (JSCH-2005 database). The three generalized gradient approximation (GGA) density functionals B-LYP, PBE and the new B97-D are tested together with the popular hybrid functional B3-LYP. The DFT-D interaction energies deviate on average by less than 1 kcal mol(-1) or 10% from the reference values.

Anharmonic midinfrared vibrational spectra of benzoic acid monomer and dimer.

Anharmonic vibrational calculations for the benzoic acid monomer and dimer in the mid-IR regime (500-1800 cm(-1)) are reported. Harmonic frequencies and intensities are obtained at the DFT/B3LYP level of theory employing D95(d,p) and cc-pVTZ basis sets. Anharmonic corrections obtained from standard perturbation theory lead to redshifts of 1%-3%.

Complexes of thiomandelate and captopril mercaptocarboxylate inhibitors to metallo-beta-lactamase by polarizable molecular mechanics. Validation on model binding sites by quantum chemistry.

Using the polarizable molecular mechanics method SIBFA, we have performed a search for the most stable binding modes of D- and L-thiomandelate to a 104-residue model of the metallo-beta-lactamase from B. fragilis, an enzyme involved in the acquired resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. Energy balances taking into account solvation effects computed with a continuum reaction field procedure indicated the D-isomer to be more stably bound than the L-one, conform to the experimental result.

Nonadiabatic effects on peptide vibrational dynamics induced by conformational changes.

Quantum dynamical simulations of vibrational spectroscopy have been carried out for glycine dipeptide (CH(3)-CO-NH-CH(2)-CO-NH-CH(3)). Conformational structure and dynamics are modeled in terms of the two Ramachandran dihedral angles of the molecular backbone. Potential energy surfaces and harmonic frequencies are obtained from electronic structure calculations at the density functional theory (DFT) [B3LYP/6-31+G(d)] level.

First principle calculations of (113)Cd chemical shifts for proteins and model systems.

113Cd isotropic NMR shieldings are calculated for a number of metal ion binding sites in proteins, using the GIAO-B3LYP and GIAO-HF methods with the uncontracted (19s15p9d4f) polarized basis set of Kellö and Sadlej on cadmium and 6-31G(d) on the ligands. The results compare favorably with experimental data, indicating that first principle calculations are a useful tool for structural interpretation of (113)Cd chemical shift data from metal ion containing proteins. The effect of different ligand types (thiolate, imidazole, water, and monodentate carboxylate), coordination number, and deviations of the coordination geometry from ideal structures is evaluated.

Binding of D- and L-captopril inhibitors to metallo-beta-lactamase studied by polarizable molecular mechanics and quantum mechanics.

The bacterial Zn2+ metallo-beta-lactamase from B. fragilis is a zinc-enzyme with two potential metal ion binding sites. It cleaves the lactam ring of antibiotics, thus contributing to the acquired resistance of bacteria against antibiotics.