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Search results for: MOLECULAR DYNAMICS,OSMOLITY,PROTEIN FOLDING,ZWIJANIE BIAŁEK,OSMOLYTES
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DNAffinity: a machine-learning approach to predict DNA binding affinities of transcription factors
PublicationWe present a physics-based machine learning approach to predict in vitro transcription factor binding affinities from structural and mechanical DNA properties directly derived from atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. The method is able to predict affinities obtained with techniques as different as uPBM, gcPBM and HT-SELEX with an excellent performance, much better than existing algorithms. Due to its nature, the method can...
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Short-range order structure and free volume distribution in liquid bismuth: X-ray diffraction and computer simulations studies
PublicationThe structure of liquid bismuth was studied by X-ray diffraction and computer simulation methods. The contraction of the atomic structure within the first coordination sphere in the temperature interval of 575- 1225 K is reported. The temperature dependencies of the coordination numbers and of the free volume are analysed. On the basis of the temperature dependencies of the free volume, the temperature dependencies of viscosity...
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Efficient synthesis and antifungal investigation of nucleosides’ quaternary ammonium salt derivatives
PublicationQuaternary ammonium salts are a group of compounds with diverse biological properties, the most important of which are their antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal activities. The quaternization reactions of 5'-O-tosyl derivatives of uridine and thymidine with triethylamine, trimethylamine, 4-(N ,N -dimethylamino)pyridine, 2-methylpyridine, and pyridine are described in this article. Two of the synthesized compounds are exceptional...
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The role of bile salts in digestion
PublicationBile salts (BS) are bio-surfactants present in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) that play a crucial role in the digestion and absorption of nutrients. The importance of BS for controlled release and transport of lipid soluble nutrients and drugs has recently stimulated scientific interest in these physiological compounds. BS are so-called facial amphiphiles showing a molecular structure that is very distinct from classical surfactants....
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In-depth characterization of icosahedral ordering in liquid copper
PublicationThe presence of icosahedral ordering in liquid copper at temperatures close to the melting point is now well-established both experimentally and through computer simulation. However, a more elaborate analysis of local icosahedral and icosahedron-like structures, together with a system for classifying such structures based on some measure of "icosahedrity", has so far been conspicuously absent in the literature. Similarly, the dynamics...
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Regulated assembly of lipopolysaccharide and sensing of its alterations in Escherichia coli
PublicationThis thesis describes mechanism of the regulation of the transcription of the rpoE gene encoding an essential RNA polymerase subunit in Escherichia coli. The RpoE regulates extracytoplasmic stress response regulon and is required to initiate transcription of genes, whose products are involvedin the folding of periplasmic proteins and synthesis and transport of outer membrane components. The transcriptional regulation of the rpoE...
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Unraveling Energy Transfer and Fluorescence Quenching Dynamics in Biomolecular Complexes: A Comprehensive Study of Imiquimod-Rifampicin Interaction.
PublicationIn nature, numerous biomolecules are implicated in charge transfer (CT) and energy transfer (ET) mechanisms crucial for fundamental processes such as photosynthesis. Unveiling these mechanisms is pertinent to multiple disciplines including chemistry, engineering and biochemistry. This letter presents a study involving two molecules forming a model system with efficient ET properties. Specifically, their complex exhibits dark quenching...
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Nonlinear Influence of Sound on the Vibrational Energy of Molecules in a Relaxing Gas
PublicationDynamics of a weakly nonlinear and weakly dispersive flow of a gas where molecular vibrational relaxation takes place is studied. Variations in the vibrational energy in the field of intense sound is considered. These variations are caused by a nonlinear transfer of the acoustic energy into energy of vibrational degrees of freedom in a relaxing gas. The final dynamic equation which describes this is instantaneous, it includes a...
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Mechanism of reaction of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase from SARS-CoV-2
PublicationWe combine molecular dynamics, statistical mechanics, and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations to describe mechanistically the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Our study analyzes the binding mode of both natural triphosphate substrates as well as remdesivir triphosphate (the active form of drug), which is bound preferentially over ATP by RdRp while...
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A new B-D-galactosidase with a low temperature optimum isolated from the Antarctic Arthrobacter sp. 20B: gene cloning, purification and characterization.
PublicationA psychrotrophic bacterium producing a coldadaptedB-galactosidase upon growth at low temperatureswas classiWed as Arthrobacter sp. 20B. A genomic DNAlibrary of strain 20B introduced into Escherichia coliTOP10F' and screening on X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-B-D-galactopyranoside)-containing agar plates ledto the isolation of B-galactosidase gene. The B-galactosidasegene (bgaS) encoding a protein of 1,053 amino acids,with a...
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Expression of a GDSL esterase from Pseudomonas sp. S9 in Pichiapastoris
PublicationCold active lipolytic enzymes are promising to replace the conventional enzymes processes of biotechnological industries. One of the most important feature of the cold-active lipases and esterases is that they offer economic benefits through energy saving. In general, they exhibit high activity at low temperatures and low thermostability at moderate temperatures. Lipolytic enzyme EstS9 was isolated from Pseudomonas sp. S9. A multiple...
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Rotation Triggers Nucleotide-Independent Conformational Transition of the Empty β Subunit of F1-ATPase
PublicationF1-ATPase (F1) is the catalytic portion of ATP synthase, a rotary motor protein that couples proton gradients to ATP synthesis. Driven by a proton flux, the F1 asymmetric γ subunit undergoes a stepwise rotation inside the α3β3 headpiece and causes the β subunits’ binding sites to cycle between states of different affinity for nucleotides. These concerted transitions drive the synthesis of ATP from ADP and phosphate. Here, we study...
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The complete stereochemistry of the antibiotic candicidin A3 (syn. ascosin A3, levorin A3)
PublicationHerein, the stereostructure of the aromatic heptaene macrolide (AHM) antifungal antibiotic candicidin A3 (syn. ascosin A3, levorin A3) has been established upon the 2D NMR studies, consisting of DQF-COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, HSQC and HMBC experiments, as well as upon extensive molecular dynamics simulations. The geometry of the heptaenic chromophore was defined as: (22E, 24E, 26Z, 28Z, 30E, 32E, 34E). The previously unreported absolute...
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Visualizing spatially decomposed intermolecular correlations in the infrared spectra of aprotic liquids
PublicationInfrared (IR) spectroscopy is commonly used to study intermolecular interactions in the liquid phase, including solvation phenomena. On the other hand, ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations offer the possibility to obtain IR spectra from first principles. Surpassing the experiment, AIMD simulations can deliver additional information on the spatial intermolecular correlations underlying the IR spectrum of the liquid. Although...
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Structure of partially reduced xPbO (1-x)SiO2 glasses: combined EXAFS and MD study
PublicationWykorzystując połączenie metody EXAFS (extended X-ray absorption finestructure) i symulacji MD (molecular dynamics) zbadano strukturęczęściowo zredukowanych szkieł ołowiowo-krzemianowych o różnejstechiometrii wyjściowej. W wyniku analizy uzyskano szczegółowyopis struktury lokalnej wokół atomów ołowiu i jej zmiany w funkcjiskładu szkła i poziomu redukcji. Określono również jaką tendencjędo aglomeracji w metaliczne klastry wykazują...
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Water Behavior Near the Lipid Bilayer
PublicationIn this chapter, we focus on the dynamics of water molecules situated in the vicinity of a phospholipid bilayer. Using a molecular dynamics simulation method, we studied interactions between water and the bilayer and tracked trajectories of the water molecules. Based on the hypothesis that molecules trapped inside the bilayer make different motions than the ones which are either attached to the surface or move freely in the water...
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Ipertrofan Revisited—The Proposal of the Complete Stereochemistry of Mepartricin A and B
PublicationBeing a methyl ester of partricin, the mepartricin complex is the active substance of a drug called Ipertrofan (Tricandil), which was proven to be useful in treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and chronic nonbacterial prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Nevertheless, no direct structural evidence on the stereochemistry of its components has been presented to date. In this contribution, we have conducted detailed, NMR-driven...
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Structural, functional, and stability change predictions in human telomerase upon specific point mutations,
PublicationOverexpression of telomerase is one of the hallmarks of human cancer. Telomerase is important for maintaining the integrity of the ends of chromosomes, which are called telomeres. A growing number of human disease syndromes are associated with organ failure caused by mutations in telomerase (hTERT or hTR). Mutations in telomerase lead to telomere shortening by decreasing the stability of the telomerase complex, reducing its accumulation,...
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Central-force decomposition of spline-based modified embedded atom method potential
PublicationCentral-force decompositions are fundamental to the calculation of stress fields in atomic systems by means of Hardy stress. We derive expressions for a central-force decomposition of the spline-based modified embedded atom method (s-MEAM) potential. The expressions are subsequently simplified to a form that can be readily used in molecular-dynamics simulations, enabling the calculation of the spatial distribution of stress in...
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Tailoring Diffusional Fields in Zwitterion/Dopamine Copolymer Electropolymerized at Carbon Nanowalls for Sensitive Recognition of Neurotransmitters
PublicationThe importance of neurotransmitter sensing in the diagnosis and treatment of many psychological illnesses and neurodegenerative diseases is non-negotiable. For electrochemical sensors to become widespread and accurate, a long journey must be undertaken for each device, from understanding the materials at the molecular level to real applications in biological fluids. We report a modification of diamondized boron-doped carbon nanowalls...
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Telomerase inhibition - unfulfilled hopes in the perfect molecular target
PublicationTelomerase plays a pivotal role in cell proliferation, homeostasis, and neoplastic transformation, making it a promising molecular target for cancer chemotherapy. Of note, although hTERT has been explored thoroughly as a target, none of the promising molecules has been approved as a drug until now. The subject of research conducted as part of my doctoral dissertation is explaining the cellular and molecular mechanism of action...
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Novel application of terminal restriction fragments length polymorphism method (t-RFLP) for identification of six clinically important Candida sp.
PublicationTerminal restriction fragments length polymorphism method (t-RFLP) is a modified classical RFLP method. The main difference is based on carrying out PCR using a fluorescently labeled primer or primers. The result of such modification is that after digestion of amplicons only terminal fragments of PCR product (containing fluorescent dye) are visualized. T-RFLP method has found application in environmental microbiology and epidemiology....
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Hyaluronan-Chondroitin Sulfate Anomalous Crosslinking Due to Temperature Changes
PublicationGlycosaminoglycans are a wide class of biopolymers showing great lubricating properties due to their structure and high affinity to water. Two of them, hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate, play an important role in articular cartilage lubrication. In this work, we present results of the all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of both molecules placed in water-based solution. To mimic changes of the physiological conditions,...
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Entropy of water calculated from harmonic approximation: estimation of the accuracy of method
PublicationSome molecular dynamics simulations were performed for liquid TIP4P and SPC water at a constant density (1.00 g/cm(3)) and within the temperature range of 5-90 degrees C. By using harmonic approximation, both the entropy of water S-H and the specific heat c(v) were calculated, and the results were compared to literature data. It was found that harmonic approximation overestimates absolute entropy of TIP4P water by 5.6 J/mol K (similar...
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Comparative molecular modelling of biologically active sterols
PublicationMembrane sterols are targets for a clinically important antifungal agent – amphotericin B. The relatively specific antifungal action of the drug is based on a stronger interaction of amphotericin B with fungal ergosterol than with mammalian cholesterol. Conformational space occupied by six sterols has been defined using the molecular dynamics method to establish if the conformational features correspond to the preferential interaction...
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Development of chromatographic and mass spectrometry conditions for untargeted lipidomic analysis of human breast milk
PublicationHuman breast milk (HBM) is a complex biofluid containing components which are essential for the proper growth of the newborn (for example nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, lipids) and also bioactive substances. According to the literature, most of studies involving HBM nutrients investigations focused essentially on the determination of proteins. The molecular composition of lipids in HBM is not well known as the protein...
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Evolution towards simplicity in bacterial small heat shock protein system
PublicationEvolution can tinker with multi-protein machines and replace them with simpler single-protein systems performing equivalent functions in an equally efficient manner. It is unclear how, on a molecular level, such simplification can arise. With ancestral reconstruction and biochemical analysis, we have traced the evolution of bacterial small heat shock proteins (sHsp), which help to refold proteins from aggregates using either two...
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Karaś P., Kochanowicz K., Pitek M., Domański P., Obuchowski I., Tomiczek B., Liberek K.: Evolution towards simplicity in bacterial small heat shock protein system// eLife -, (2023), s.1-21
PublicationEvolution can tinker with multi-protein machines and replace them with simpler single-protein systems performing equivalent functions in an equally efficient manner. It is unclear how, on a molecular level, such simplification can arise. With ancestral reconstruction and biochemical analysis, we have traced the evolution of bacterial small heat shock proteins (sHsp), which help to refold proteins from aggregates using either...
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Density functional theory calculations on entire proteins for free energies of binding: Application to a model polar binding site
PublicationIn drug optimization calculations, the molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) method can be used to compute free energies of binding of ligands to proteins. The method involves the evaluation of the energy of configurations in an implicit solvent model. One source of errors is the force field used, which can potentially lead to large errors due to the restrictions in accuracy imposed by its empirical nature....
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Modelling charge transfer processes in C2+ -tetrahydrofuran collision for ion-induced radiation damage in DNA building blocks
PublicationInvestigations of collision-induced processes involving carbon ions and molecules of biological interest in particular DNA building blocks, are crucial to model the effect of radiation on cells in order to improve medical treatments for cancer therapy. Using carbon ions appears to be one of the most efficient ways to increase biological effectiveness to damage cancerous cells by irradiating deep-seated tumors. Therefore, interest...
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Antifungal Effect of Penicillamine Due to the Selective Targeting of L-Homoserine O-Acetyltransferase
PublicationDue to the apparent similarity of fungal and mammalian metabolic pathways, the number of established antifungal targets is low, and the identification of novel ones is highly desirable. The results of our studies, presented in this work, indicate that the fungal biosynthetic pathway of L-methionine, an amino acid essential for humans, seems to be an attractive perspective. The MET2 gene from Candida albicans encoding L-homoserine...
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Non-ergodic fragmentation upon collision-induced activation of cysteine–water cluster cations
PublicationCysteine–water cluster cations Cys(H2O)3,6 + and Cys(H2O)3,6H+ are assembled in He droplets and probed by tandem mass spectrometry with collision-induced activation. Benchmark experimental data for this biologically important system are complemented with theory to elucidate the details of the collisioninduced activation process. Experimental energy thresholds for successive release of water are compared to water dissociation energies...
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Dominant Pathways of Adenosyl Radical-Induced DNA Damage Revealed by QM/MM Metadynamics
PublicationBrominated nucleobases sensitize double stranded DNA to hydrated electrons, one of the dominant genotoxic species produced in hypoxic cancer cells during radiotherapy. Such radiosensitizers can therefore be administered locally to enhance treatment efficiency within the solid tumor while protecting the neighboring tissue. When a solvated electron attaches to 8-bromoadenosine, a potential sensitizer, the dissociation of bromide...
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c-Myc inhibition and p21 modulation contribute to unsymmetrical bisacridines-induced apoptosis and senescence in pancreatic cancer cells
PublicationBackground Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most aggressive cancers and is the seventh leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. PC is characterized by rapid progression and resistance to conventional treatments. Mutations in KRAS, CDKN2A, TP53, SMAD4/DPC4, and MYC are major genetic alterations associated with poor treatment outcomes in patients with PC. Therefore, optimizing PC therapy is a tremendous challenge. Unsymmetrical...
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Analysis of Reconstituted Tripartite Complex Supports Avidity-based Recruitment of Hsp70 by Substrate Bound J-domain Protein
PublicationHsp70 are ubiquitous, versatile molecular chaperones that cyclically interact with substrate protein(s). The initial step requires synergistic interaction of a substrate and a J-domain protein (JDP) cochaperone, via its J-domain, with Hsp70 to stimulate hydrolysis of its bound ATP. This hydrolysis drives conformational changes in Hsp70 that stabilize substrate binding. However, because of the transient nature of substrate and JDP...
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In silico assessment and sonochemical synthesis of 2-alkynyl 3-chloropyrazines as prospective ligands for SARS-CoV-2
PublicationThe recent global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has triggered an intense effort worldwide towards the development of an effective cure for this disease. In our effort we have explored the 2-alkynyl substituted 3-chloropyrazine framework as a potential template for the design of molecules for this purpose. Our strategy was supported by the in silico studies of representative compounds to assess their binding affinities via docking...
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Interaction of human serum albumin with volatiles and polyphenols from some berries
PublicationHeadspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC GCeTOFMS) identified 19 and quantified 6 monoterpenes in gooseberries, blueberries and cranberries. As a protein model human serum albumin (HSA) was used in interaction with terpenes. Specific binding of terpenes to HSA under the physiological conditions was a result of the formation...
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Structural and dynamic properties of water within the solvation layer around various conformations of the glycine-based polypeptide
PublicationSeveral conformations of the solvated glycine-based polypeptides were investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. Some properties of water in the neighbouring space around these molecules were investigated. It was found, that water forms a well-defined layer - the first solvation shell - around the peptide molecule, and thickness of this layer is independent of the peptide structure, and it equals to approximately 0.28 nm....
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THE GENE CLONING, OVEREXPRESSION, PURIFICATION AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISATION OF A NEW COLD-ADAPTED β–GALACTOSIDASE FROM ARTHROBACTER SP. VII-4
PublicationINTRODUCTION. β-Galactosidase [EC 3.2.1.23] is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of O-glycosidic linkages in galactosides. It is commercially used in dairy industry for the production of milk with reduced lactose content. Potentially, the best method for lactose removal under cooling conditions should be carried out with a cold-adapted enzyme. AIM. The aim of this study was to determine the taxonomic affiliation of the isolate...
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Unusual Influence of Fluorinated Anions on the Stretching Vibrations of Liquid Water
PublicationInfrared (IR) spectroscopy is a commonly used and invaluable tool in the studies of solvation phenomena in aqueous solutions. Concurrently, ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations deliver the solvation shell picture at a molecular detail level and allow for a consistent decomposition of the theoretical IR spectrum into underlying spatial correlations. Here, we demonstrate how the novel spectral decomposition techniques...
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Why is TASK Quarterly a Significant Journal to Publish Your Article? —A Bibliometric Analysis of a Scientific and Technical Journal
PublicationA bibliometric analysis of TASK Quarterly in the years 1997-2021 in terms of various bibliometric indicators was performed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the publication of the first issue of the journal. The number of publications and citations increased over the mentioned span of years. The leading countries in terms of the greatest number of papers published in TASK Quarterly are Poland, Italy, Germany, Ukraine, USA and...
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A novel hierarchically-porous diamondized polyacrylonitrile sponge-like electrodes for acetaminophen electrochemical detection
PublicationA novel composite electrode material consisting of tangled fibrous polyacrylonitrile-based hierarchically-struc- tured nanocomposites has been produced by wet-spinning, carbonized and decorated with a carbon nano- architecture by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and investigated as a metal-free electrode for the enhanced electrochemical detection of acetaminophen. Surprisingly, the hierarchical fiber ar- chitecture...
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Study of Icosahedral Clusters in Close-packed Simple Liquids
PublicationThe local structure of liquid copper was determined using Steinhardt order parameters, with particular attention paid to icosahedral clusters. The positions of atoms were obtained from three sets of molecular dynamics simulations, with the forces obtained from: the Sutton-Chen (SC) potential, the Naval Research Laboratory total energy tight-binding (NRL-TB) method and the divide-and-conquer learn-on-the-fly (DCLOTF) method, respectively....
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Anharmonic Infrared Spectroscopy through the Fourier Transform of Time Correlation Function Formalism in ONETEP
PublicationDensity functional theory molecular dynamics (DFT-MD) provides an efficient framework for accurately computing several types of spectra. The major benefit of DFTMD approaches lies in the ability to naturally take into account the effects of temperature and anharmonicity, without having to introduce any ad hoc or a posteriori corrections. Consequently, computational spectroscopy based on DFT-MD approaches plays a pivotal role in...
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Refined theoretical study of radiative association: Cross sections and rate constants for the formation of SiN
PublicationRadiative association of silicon mononitride (SiN) in its two lowest molecular electronic states is studied through quantum and classical dynamics. Special attention is paid to the behavior of the cross section at high collision energies. A modified expression for the semiclassical cross section is presented which excludes transitions to continuum states. This gives improved agreement with quantum mechanical perturbation theory...
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Characterization of two aminotransferases from Candida albicans
PublicationAminoadipate aminotransferase (AmAA) is an enzyme of α-aminoadipate pathway (AAP) for l-lysine biosynthesis. AmAA may also participated in biosynthesis or degradation of aromatic amino acids and in d-tryptophan based pigment production. The AAP is unique for fungal microorganisms. Enzymes involved in this pathway have specific structures and properties. These features can be used as potential molecular markers. Enzymes catalyzing...
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Structural and Dynamic Properties of Water within the Solvation Layer around Various Conformations of the Glycine-based Polypeptide
PublicationSeveral conformations of the solvated glycine-based polypeptides were investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. Some properties of water in the neighboring space around these molecules were investigated. It was found that water forms a well-defined layer—the first solvation shell—around the peptide molecule, and thickness of this layer is independent of the peptide structure and is equal to approximately 0.28 nm. Within...
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Low-Barrier Hydrogen Bond Determines Target-Binding Affinity and Specificity of the Antitubercular Drug Bedaquiline
PublicationThe role of short strong hydrogen bonds (SSHB) in ligand-target binding remains largely unexplored, thereby hin- dering a potentially important avenue in the rational drug de- sign. Here, we investigate the interaction between bedaquiline (Bq), a potent anti-tuberculosis drug, and the mycobacterial ATP synthase, to unravel the role of a specific hydrogen bond to a conserved acidic residue in the target affinity and specificity....
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Theoretical studies of fragmentation processes of neutral and ionized furan molecule
PublicationThis PhD thesis focuses on the fragmentation mechanism of the furan molecule in the gas phase. The approach taken in this work comprised of three theoretical methodologies considering the dynamical, energetical and entropic aspects of the studied process. First, molecular dynamics simulations were performed. Next, the potential energy surfaces were explored at the DFT/B3LYP level of theory. Finally, a new statistical Microcanonical...
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Hybrid quantum-classical approach for atomistic simulation of metallic systems
PublicationThe learn-on-the-fly (LOTF) method [G. Csanyi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 175503 (2004)] serves to seamlessly embed quantum-mechanical computations within a molecular-dynamics framework by continual local retuning of the potential's parameters so that it reproduces the quantum-mechanical forces. In its current formulation, it is suitable for systems where the interaction is short-ranged, such as covalently bonded semiconductors....