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Polarizable continuum models provide an effective electrostatic embedding model for fragment‐based chemical shift prediction in challenging systems
Author(s) -
Unzueta Pablo A.,
Beran Gregory J. O.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of computational chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.907
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1096-987X
pISSN - 0192-8651
DOI - 10.1002/jcc.26388
Subject(s) - polarizable continuum model , embedding , polarizability , biomolecule , ab initio , dielectric , statistical physics , electrostatics , computer science , dimer , chemical physics , chemistry , computational chemistry , molecule , algorithm , physics , materials science , nanotechnology , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , solvation , organic chemistry
Ab initio nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shift prediction provides an important tool for interpreting and assigning experimental spectra, but it becomes computationally prohibitive in large systems. The computational costs can be reduced considerably by fragmentation of the large system into a series of contributions from many smaller subsystems. However, the presence of charged functional groups and the need to partition the system across covalent bonds create complications in biomolecules that typically require the use of large fragments and careful descriptions of the electrostatic environment. The present work shows how a model that combines chemical shielding contributions from non‐overlapping monomer and dimer fragments embedded in a polarizable continuum model provides a simple, easy‐to‐implement, and computationally inexpensive approach for predicting chemical shifts in complex systems. The model's performance proves rather insensitive to the continuum dielectric constant, making the selection of the optimal embedding dielectric less critical. The PCM‐embedded fragment model is demonstrated to perform well across systems ranging from molecular crystals to proteins.