Molecular Electron Density (molecular + electron_density)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


The interplay between experiment and theory in charge-density analysis

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION A, Issue 5 2004
Philip Coppens
The comparison of theory and experiment remains a cornerstone of scientific inquiry. Various levels of such comparison applicable to charge-density analysis are discussed, including static and dynamic electron densities, topological properties, d -orbital occupancies and electrostatic moments. The advantages and drawbacks of the pseudoatom multipole are discussed, as are the experimentally constrained wavefunctions introduced by Jayatilaka and co-workers, which combine energy minimization with the requirement to provide a reasonable fit to the X-ray structure factors. The transferability of atomic densities can be exploited through construction of a pseudoatom databank, which may be based on analysis of ab initio molecular electron densities, and can be used to evaluate a host of physical properties. Partitioning of theoretical energies with the Morokuma,Ziegler energy decomposition scheme allows direct comparison with electrostatic interaction energies obtained from electron densities represented by the pseudoatom formalism. Compared with the Buckingham expression for the interaction between non-overlapping densities, the agreement with theory is much improved when a newly developed hybrid EP/MM (exact potential/multipole model) method is employed. [source]


Atomic Properties of Amino Acids: Computed Atom Types as a Guide for Future Force-Field Design

CHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 8 2003
Paul L. A. Popelier Dr.
Abstract The quantum chemical topology (QCT) is able to propose atom types by direct computation rather than by chemical intuition. In previous work, molecular electron densities of 20 amino acids and smaller derived molecules were partitioned into a set of 760 topological atoms. Each atom was characterised by seven atomic properties and subjected to cluster analysis element by element, that is, C, H, O, N, and S. From the respective dendrograms, 21 carbon atom types were distinguished, 7 hydrogen, 2 nitrogen, 6 oxygen, and 6 sulfur atom types. Herein, we contrast the QCT atom types with those of the assisted model building with energy refinement (AMBER) force field. We conclude that in spite of fair agreement between QCT and AMBER atom types, the latter are sometimes underdifferentiated and sometimes overdifferentiated. In summary, we suggest that QCT is a useful guide in designing new force fields or improving existing ones. The computational origin of QCT atom types makes their determination unbiased compared to atom type determination by chemical intuition and a priori assumptions. We provide a list of specific recommendations. [source]


From quantum chemistry and the classical theory of polar liquids to continuum approximations in molecular mechanics calculations,

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, Issue 5 2005
Sergio A. Hassan
Abstract Biological macromolecules and other polymers belong to the class of mesoscopic systems, with characteristic length scale of the order of a nanometer. Although microscopic models would be the preferred choice in theoretical calculations, their use in computer simulations becomes prohibitive for large systems or long simulation times. On the other hand, the use of purely macroscopic models in the mesoscopic domain may introduce artifacts, with effects that are difficult to assess and that may compromise the reliability of the calculations. Here is proposed an approach with the aim of minimizing the empirical nature of continuum approximations of solvent effects within the scope of molecular mechanics (MM) approximations in mesoscopic systems. Using quantum chemical methods, the potential generated by the molecular electron density is first decomposed in a multicenter-multipole expansion around predetermined centers. The monopole and dipole terms of the expansion at each site create electric fields that polarize the surrounding aqueous medium whose dielectric properties can be described by the classical theory of polar liquids. Debye's theory allows a derivation of the dielectric profiles created around isolated point charges and dipoles that can incorporate Onsager reaction field corrections. A superposition of screened Coulomb potentials obtained from this theory makes possible a simple derivation of a formal expression for the total electrostatic energy and the polar component of the solvation energy of the system. A discussion is presented on the physical meaning of the model parameters, their transferability, and their convergence to calculable quantities in the limit of simple systems. The performance of this continuum approximation in computer calculations of amino acids in the context of an atomistic force field is discussed. Applications of a continuum model based on screened Coulomb potentials in multinanosecond simulations of peptides and proteins are briefly reviewed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005 [source]


Revisiting N -continuous density-functional theory: Chemical reactivity and "Atoms" in "Molecules"

ISRAEL JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY, Issue 3-4 2003
Morrel H. Cohen
We construct an internally-consistent density-functional theory valid for noninteger electron numbers N by precise definition of a density functional that is continuous in N. In this theory, charge transfer between the atoms of a heteronuclear diatomic molecule, which have been separated adiabatically to infinity, is avoided because the hardness for fractional occupation of a single HOMO spin-orbital is negative. This N -continuous density functional makes possible a variational theory of "atoms" in "molecules" that exactly decomposes the molecular electron density into a sum of contributions from its parts. The parts are treated as though isolated. That theory, in turn, gives a deep foundation to the chemical reactivity theory provided that the hardness of entities with vanishing spin density is positive, as argued to be the case here. This transition from negative to positive hardness closely parallels the transition from the Heitler-London to the Hund-Mulliken picture of molecular bonding. [source]


Ab initio quality one-electron properties of large molecules: Development and testing of molecular tailoring approach

JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 4 2003
K. Babu
Abstract The development of a linear-scaling method, viz. "molecular tailoring approach" with an emphasis on accurate computation of one-electron properties of large molecules is reported. This method is based on fragmenting the reference macromolecule into a number of small, overlapping molecules of similar size. The density matrix (DM) of the parent molecule is synthesized from the individual fragment DMs, computed separately at the Hartree,Fock (HF) level, and is used for property evaluation. In effect, this method reduces the O(N3) scaling order within HF theory to an n·O(N,3) one, where n is the number of fragments and N,, the average number of basis functions in the fragment molecules. An algorithm and a program in FORTRAN 90 have been developed for an automated fragmentation of large molecular systems. One-electron properties such as the molecular electrostatic potential, molecular electron density along with their topography, as well as the dipole moment are computed using this approach for medium and large test chemical systems of varying nature (tocopherol, a model polypeptide and a silicious zeolite). The results are compared qualitatively and quantitatively with the corresponding actual ones for some cases. This method is also extended to obtain MP2 level DMs and electronic properties of large systems and found to be equally successful. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 24: 484,495, 2003 [source]


Intramolecular interactions and intramolecular hydrogen bonding in conformers of gaseous glycine

JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 7 2001
L. F. Pacios
Abstract Ab initio calculations at the MP2/6-311++G** level of theory led recently to the identification of 13 stable conformers of gaseous glycine with relative energies within 11 kcal/mol. The stability of every structure depends on subtle intramolecular effects arising from conformational changes. These intramolecular interactions are examined with the tools provided by the Atoms In Molecules (AIM) theory, which allows obtaining a wealth of quantum mechanics information from the molecular electron density ,(r). The analysis of the topological features of ,(r) on one side and the atomic properties integrated in the basins defined by the gradient vector field of the density on the other side makes possible to explore the different intramolecular effects in every conformer. The existence of intramolecular hydrogen bonds on some conformers is demonstrated, while the presence of other stabilizing interactions arising from favorable conformations is shown to explain the stability of other structures in the potential energy surface of glycine. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 702,716, 2001 [source]


Reconstruction from a single diffraction pattern of azimuthally projected electron density of molecules aligned parallel to a single axis

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION A, Issue 1 2010
D. K. Saldin
Diffraction from the individual molecules of a molecular beam, aligned parallel to a single axis by a strong electric field or other means, has been proposed as a means of structure determination of individual molecules. As in fiber diffraction, all the information extractable is contained in a diffraction pattern from incidence of the diffracting beam normal to the molecular alignment axis. The limited size of the object results in continuous diffraction patterns characterized by neither Bragg spots nor layer lines. Equations relating the scattered amplitudes to the molecular electron density may be conveniently formulated in terms of cylindrical harmonics. For simulated diffraction patterns from short C nanotubes aligned along their axes, iterative solution of the equation for the zeroth-order cylindrical harmonic and its inverse with appropriate constraints in real and reciprocal space enables the phasing of the measured amplitudes, and hence a reconstruction of the azimuthal projection of the molecule. [source]


On the application of an experimental multipolar pseudo-atom library for accurate refinement of small-molecule and protein crystal structures

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION A, Issue 2 2007
Bartosz Zarychta
With an increasing number of biomacromolecular crystal structures being measured to ultra-high resolution, it has become possible to extend to large systems experimental charge-density methods that are usually applied to small molecules. A library has been built of average multipole populations describing the electron density of chemical groups in all 20 amino acids found in proteins. The library uses the Hansen & Coppens multipolar pseudo-atom model to derive molecular electron density and electrostatic potential distributions. The library values are obtained from several small peptide or amino acid crystal structures refined against ultra-high-resolution X-ray diffraction data. The library transfer is applied automatically in the MoPro software suite to peptide and protein structures measured at atomic resolution. The transferred multipolar parameters are kept fixed while the positional and thermal parameters are refined. This enables a proper deconvolution of thermal motion and valence-electron-density redistributions, even when the diffraction data do not extend to subatomic resolution. The use of the experimental library multipolar atom model (ELMAM) also has a major impact on crystallographic structure modelling in the case of small-molecule crystals at atomic resolution. Compared to a spherical-atom model, the library transfer results in a more accurate crystal structure, notably in terms of thermal displacement parameters and bond distances involving H atoms. Upon transfer, crystallographic statistics of fit are improved, particularly free R factors, and residual electron-density maps are cleaner. [source]