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A method for constrained energy minimization of macromolecules
Author(s) -
Van Gunsteren W. F.,
Karplus M.
Publication year - 1980
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.540010308
Subject(s) - minification , curvature , energy minimization , shake , dihedral angle , function (biology) , mathematical optimization , penalty method , algorithm , mathematics , computer science , chemistry , computational chemistry , physics , molecule , geometry , quantum mechanics , hydrogen bond , evolutionary biology , biology
Two algorithms for the local energy minimization of the structure of macromolecules in the presence of constraints are proposed. They are a combination of the method of steepest descents and the method of conjugate gradients with the procedure SHAKE, by which distance constraints can be satisfied. The two algorithms are tested by applying them to a small protein, the bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI), and compared with the penalty function method for conserving constraints. The efficiency of the proposed methods depends on the level of interdependence of the constraints. For bond‐length constraints, the use of SHAKE is superior to the penalty function method. However, when bond‐angle constraints are included, SHAKE is more efficient only if the curvature of the penalty function is considerably greater than that of the potential function being minimized. The results indicate that with bond‐length constraints the minimization behavior is similar to that without constraints. However, the simultaneous application of bond‐length and bond‐angle constraints appears to confine the molecule to a very limited part of configuration space, very different from the part covered by an unconstrained minimization. This conclusion calls into question energy minimizations of protein systems in which only the dihedral angles are allowed to vary.