POTENTIAL-ENERGY FUNCTIONS

When energy is a critical quantity, accurate biomolecular simulations rest in substantial part on accurate potential energy functions (force fields). Improvements in methodology for determining parameters - particularly, in the systematic use of computational data obtained from quantum chemical calculations - and enhancements in functional form are leading to better potential energy functions. New calculations have been developed for water (including calculations that incorporate electronic polarizability to take account of the degree to which a molecule can be polarized), proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids, and general organic molecules. Most notably, two new biomolecular force fields have recently been derived and significant redeterminations of the parameters of two existing biomolecular force fields have been carried out. Some progress has also been made in incorporating polarizability into potential energy functions for molecules in general and in improving the treatment of metal-ligand interactions in systems of biomolecular interest.