• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.151-156
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• 2005

The conformational dynamics of heme pocket, a small vacant site near the binding site of heme proteins -myoglobin (Mb) and hemoglobin (Hb), was investigated after photolysis of carbon monoxide from MbCO and HbCO in D$_2$O solution at 283 K by probing time-resolved vibrational spectra of photolyzed CO. Two absorption bands, arising from CO in the heme pocket, evolve nonexponentially in time. The band at higher energy side blue shifts and broadens with time and the one at lower energy side narrows significantly with a negligible shift. These spectral evolutions are induced by protein conformational changes following photolysis that modify structure and electric field of heme pocket, and ligand dynamics in it. The conformational changes affecting the spectrum of photolyzed CO in heme pocket likely modulates ligand-binding activity.

• Proceeding of EDISON Challenge
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• 2015.03a
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• pp.163-166
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• 2015

Intramolecular energy migration in a cyclic porphyrin array is spontaneous transfer of energy from one excited site to another. Since the efficiency of energy migration is inversely proportional to distance, the energy migration is occurred on their adjacent sites more often than distant ones. Therefore, the energy migration in the cyclic porphyrin array is largely dependent on their conformational characters. However, evaluation of conformational information by means of experimental tools is ambiguous since their limited resolution. In this work, we calculate the internal angle and distance distributions of cyclic porphyrin arrays using molecular dynamics simulations to obtain conformational information. To evaluate the angle and distance distributions respect to molecular size, we constructed molecules with n porphyrin dimers (n=1,3,7) in implicit solvent environment. Performing molecular dynamics simulations, we modulated alkyl groups to investigate additional conformational effects of the system.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.1153-1162
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• 1995

The conformational details of β-lactose are investigated through molecular dynamics simulations in conjunction with the adiabatic potential energy map. The adiabatic energy map generated in vacuo contains five local minima. The lowest energy structure on the map does not correspond to the structure determined experimentally by NMR and the X-ray crystallography. When aqueous solvent effect is incorporated into the energy map calculation by increasing the dielectric constant, one of the local minima in the vacuum energy map becomes the global minimum in the resultant energy map. The lowest energy structure of the energy map generated in aquo is consistent with the one experimentally determined. Molecular dynamics simulations starting from those fivelocal minima on the vacuum energy map reveal that conformational transitions can take place among various conformations. Molecular dynamics simulations of the lactose and ricin B chain complex system in a stochastic boundary indicate that the most stable conformation in solution phase is bound to the binding site and that there are conformational changes in the exocyclic region of the lactose molecule upon binding.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.3553-3554
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• 2011

• Proceeding of EDISON Challenge
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• 2013.04a
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• pp.1-12
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• 2013

그래핀에 대한 이론 연구는 주로 계산이 용이한 코스그레인 (Coarse-grained) 모델을 이용한 분자동역학 시뮬레이션을 토대로 이루어져 왔다. 하지만 그래핀 고분자 복합체, 표면이 개질된 그래핀의 구조 등에 대한 원자 수준의 총체적인 정보는 거시적인 (Macroscopic) 코스그레인 모델을 바탕으로 한 분자동역학 시뮬레이션으로는 얻을 수 없다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 전자구조 계산 및 원자 수준 모델의 Born Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics를 이용하여 작은 그래핀 분자의 구조 (Structure)와 형태동역학 (Conformational Dynamics)에 대한 정보를 얻고, 이를 바탕으로 한 코스그레인 모델을 구축하였다. 더 나아가 이 코스그레인 모델을 이용하여 전기전도성 네트워크와 고분자-그래핀 복합체의 구조 등에 대해 살펴보고자 한다.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.2723-2728
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• 2009

The conformational properties of oligosaccharides are important to understand carbohydrate-protein interactions. A trimannoside, methyl 3,6-di-O-($\alpha$-D-Man)-$\alpha$-D-Man (TRIMAN) is a basic unit of N-linked oligosaccharides. This TRIMAN moiety was further modified by GlcNAc (BISECT), which is important to biological activity of N-glycan. To characterize the trimannoside and its bisecting one we performed a molecular dynamics simulation in water. The resulting models show the conformational transition with two major and minor conformations. The major conformational transition results from the $\omega$ angle transition; another minor transition is due to the $\psi$ angle transition of $\alpha$ (1 $\rightarrow$ 6) linkage. The introduction of bisecting GlcNAc on TRIMAN made the different population of the major and minor conformations of the TRIMAN moiety. Omega ($\omega$) angle distribution is largely changed and the population of gt conformation is increased in BISECT oligosaccharide. The inter-residue hydrogen bonds and water bridges via bisecting GlcNAc residue make alterations on the local and overall conformation of TRIMAN moiety. These changes of conformational distribution for TRIMAN moiety can affect the overall conformation of N-glycan and the biological activity of glycoprotein.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1825-1831
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• 2006

The influence of solvent viscosity on conformational dynamics of the heme-pocket, a small vacant site near the binding site of myoglobin (Mb) and hemoglobin (Hb), and playing a functionally important role by serving as a station in ligand binding and escape, was studied by probing time-resolved vibrational spectra of CO photodissociated from MbCO and HbCO in $D_2O$, 75 wt% glycerol/$D_2O$, and trehalose at 283 K. Two absorption bands ($B_1$ and $B_2$) of the sample in viscous solvents, arising from CO in the heme pocket, are very similar to those in $D_2O$. Two bands in Mb and Hb under all three solvents exhibit very similar nonexponential spectral evolution ($B_1$ band; blue shifting and broadening, $B_2$ band; narrowing with a negligible shifting), suggesting that in the present experimental time window of 100 ps, the extents of the spectral shift and narrowing is much influenced neither by the viscosity of solvent nor by the quaternary contact of Hb. Spectral evolution can be described by a biexponential function with a fast universal time constant of 0.52 ps and a slow time constant ranging from 13 to 32 ps. For both proteins in all three solvents majority of spectral evolution occurs with the fast universal time constant. The magnitude of the slow rate in the spectral shift of B1 band decreases with increasing solvent viscosity, indicating that it is influenced by global conformational change which is retarded in viscous solvent, thereby serve as a reporter of global conformational change of heme proteins after deligation.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.4-11
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• 2017

Heterotrimeric G proteins are key intracellular coordinators that receive signals from cells through activation of cognate G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The details of their atomic interactions and structural mechanisms have been described by many biochemical and biophysical studies. Specifically, a framework for understanding conformational changes in the receptor upon ligand binding and associated G protein activation was provided by description of the crystal structure of the ${\beta}2$-adrenoceptor-Gs complex in 2011. This review focused on recent findings in the conformational dynamics of G proteins and GPCRs during activation processes.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.339-342
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• 2007

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.476-479
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• 2008

Understanding the dynamics of proteins is essential to gain insight into biological functions of proteins. The protein dynamics is delineated by conformational fluctuation (i.e. thermal vibration), and thus, thermal vibration of proteins has to be understood. In this paper, a simple mechanical model was considered for understanding protein's dynamics. Specifically, a mechanical vibration model was developed for understanding the large protein dynamics related to biological functions. The mechanical model for large proteins was constructed based on simple elastic model (i.e. Tirion's elastic model) and model reduction methods (dynamic model condensation). The large protein structure was described by minimal degrees of freedom on the basis of model reduction method that allows one to transform the refined structure into the coarse-grained structure. In this model, it is shown that a simple reduced model is able to reproduce the thermal fluctuation behavior of proteins qualitatively comparable to original molecular model. Moreover, the protein's dynamic behavior such as collective dynamics is well depicted by a simple reduced mechanical model. This sheds light on that the model reduction may provide the information about large protein dynamics, and consequently, the biological functions of large proteins.