A study of hydration effects on the conformational aspects of gaba mediators

The conformation of numerous chemical compounds is strongly influenced by solvents. Knowledge of their structure in solution is necessary, especially for a discussion of the biological and pharmacological activity of the molecules. The neurotransmitters and their agonists and antagonists are known to be flexible molecules that interact with quite distinct receptors. The conformational properties of several GABA (γ‐aminobutyric acid) mediators have been studied by the MNDO technique. The optimized geometries of the molecules have been used to study the solvent effects on their conformational properties considering the supermolecule approach for their first hydration shell. A conjectural pharmacophoric pattern for several GABA inhibitors has already been suggested from the molecular electrostatic potentials ( MEP ) of several molecules using a localized bond orbital technique. In the present work, MEP calculations have been carried out considering a solvent effect on the MNDO optimized geometries to investigate any deviation from the earlier results.