Classical and Quantum Descriptions of Proteins, Lipids and Membranes

Abstract: In this thesis the properties of proteins and membranes are studied by molecular dynamics simulations. The subject is decomposed into parts addressing free energy calculations in proteins, mechanical inclusion models for lipid bilayers, phase transitions and structural correlations in lipid bilayers and atomistic lipid bilayer models. The work is based on results from large scale computer simulations, quantum mechanical and continuum models. Efficient statistical sampling and the coarseness of the models needed to describe the ordered and disordered states are of central concern.Classical free energy calculations of zinc binding, in metalloproteins, require a quantum mechanical correction in order to obtain realistic binding energies. Classical electrostatic polarisation will influence the binding energy in a large region surrounding the ion and produce reasonable equilibrium structures in the bound state, when compared to experimental evidence.The free energy for inserting a protein into a membrane is calculated with continuum theory. The free energy is assumed quadratic in the mismatch and depend on two elastic constants of the membrane. Under these circumstances, the free energy can then be written as a line tension multiplied by the circumference of the membrane inclusion. The inclusion model and coarse grained particle simulations of the membranes show that the thickness profile around the protein will be an exponentially damped oscillation.Coarse-grained particle simulations of model membranes containing mixtures of phospholipid and cholesterol molecules at different conditions were performed. The gel-to-liquid crystalline phase transition is successively weakened with increasing amounts of cholesterol without disappearing even at a concentration of cholesterol as high as 60%.A united atom parameterization of diacyl lipids was constructed. The aim was to construct a new force field that retains and improves the good agreement for the fluid phase and at the same time produces a gel phase at low temperatures, with properties coherent with experimental findings. The global bilayer tilt obtains an azimuthal value of 31? and is aligned between lattice vectors in the bilayer plane. It is also shown that the model yield a correct heat of melting as well as heat capacities in the fluid and gel phase of DPPC.