Molecular Dynamics Simulations of a DMPC Bilayer Using Nonadditive Interaction Models

Abstract

We present a polarizable force field based on the charge-equilibration formalism for molecular dynamics simulations of phospholipid bilayers. We discuss refinement of headgroup dihedral potential parameters to reproduce ab initio conformational energies of dimethylphosphate calculated at the MP2/cc-pVTZ level of theory. We also address the refinement of electrostatic and Lennard-Jones (van der Waals) parameters to reproduce ab initio polarizabilities and water interaction energies of dimethylphosphate and tetramethylammonium. We present results of molecular dynamics simulations of a solvated dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine bilayer using this polarizable force field as well as the nonpolarizable, fixed-charge CHARMM27 and CHARMM27r force fields for comparison. Calculated atomic and electron-density profiles, deuterium order parameters, and headgroup orientations are found to be consistent with previous simulations and with experiment. Polarizable interaction models for solvent and lipid exhibit greater water penetration into the lipid interior; this is due to the variation of water molecular dipole moment from a bulk value of 2.6 Debye to a value of 1.9 Debye in the membrane interior. The reduction in the electrostatic component of the desolvation free-energy penalty allows for greater water density. The surface dipole potential predicted by the polarizable model is 0.95 V compared to the value of 0.8 V based on nonpolarizable force-field calculations. Effects of inclusion of explicit polarization are discussed in relation to water dipole moment and varying charge distributions. Dielectric permittivity profiles for polarizable and nonpolarizable interactions exhibit subtle differences arising from the nature of the individual component parameterizations; for the polarizable force field, we obtain a bulk dielectric permittivity of 79, whereas the nonpolarizable force field plateaus at 97 (the value for pure TIP3P water). In the membrane interior, both models predict unit permittivities, with the polarizable models contributing from one to two more units due to the optical dielectric (high-frequency dipole fluctuations). This contribution is a step toward the continuing development of a CHARMM (Chemistry at Harvard Molecular Mechanics) polarizable force field for simulations of biomacromolecular systems.