Ligand diffusion on protein surface observed in molecular dynamics simulation

Dmitry Nerukh, Noriaki Okimoto, Atsushi Suenaga, Makoto Taiji

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The process of binding of small ligands to dihydrofolate reductase protein has been investigated using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. The existence of a mechanism that facilitates the search of the binding site by the ligand is demonstrated. The mechanism consists of ligand diffusing on the protein’s surface. It has been discussed in the literature before, but has not been explicitly confirmed for realistic molecular systems. The strength of this nonspecific binding is roughly estimated and found to be essential for the binding kinetics.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3476–3479
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Volume3
Issue number23
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Nov 2012

Keywords

  • small ligand binding
  • protein ligand binding
  • binding rate
  • facilitated binding
  • surface diffusion
  • mycobacterium tuberculosis dihydrofolate reductase

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