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Full-Text Articles in Physics

A Novel Empirical Free Energy Function That Explains And Predicts Protein–Protein Binding Affinities, Joseph Audie, Suzanne Scarlata Sep 2007

A Novel Empirical Free Energy Function That Explains And Predicts Protein–Protein Binding Affinities, Joseph Audie, Suzanne Scarlata

Chemistry & Physics Faculty Publications

A free energy function can be defined as a mathematical expression that relates macroscopic free energy changes to microscopic or molecular properties. Free energy functions can be used to explain and predict the affinity of a ligand for a protein and to score and discriminate between native and non-native binding modes. However, there is a natural tension between developing a function fast enough to solve the scoring problem but rigorous enough to explain and predict binding affinities. Here, we present a novel, physics-based free energy function that is computationally inexpensive, yet explanatory and predictive. The function results from a derivation …


Rank-Ordering Protein-Ligand Binding Affinity By A Quantum Mechanics/ Molecular Mechanics/Poisson-Boltzmann-Surface Area Model, Mingliang Wang, Chung Wong Jan 2007

Rank-Ordering Protein-Ligand Binding Affinity By A Quantum Mechanics/ Molecular Mechanics/Poisson-Boltzmann-Surface Area Model, Mingliang Wang, Chung Wong

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works

The authors describe a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics/Poisson-Boltzmann-surface area model for rank-ordering protein-ligand binding affinity in aqueous solution. Unlike many classical continuum electrostatics calculations in which the protein and ligand are treated as a uniform dielectric, this model uses quantum mechanics to explicitly describe the electronic polarization of the ligand by its environment. In solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation, the authors use the quantum mechanical charge density directly rather than the common point-charge approximation. The authors show that useful results can be obtained by using experimental structure, by choosing a protein dielectric constant that is smaller than that typically used in classical …