Molecular Dynamics and Electron Density Studies of Siderophores and Peptides.

The dissertation comprises three separate studies of siderophores and peptides. In the first of these studies the relative potential energies for a series of diastereomers of a siderophore neocoprogen I are evaluated with molecular mechanics force field methods. Charges on the hydroxamate moiety are determined with a synthetic model siderophore compound using valence population refinements, and alternatively, with the theoretical ab initio/ESP calculations. The single diastereomer found in the crystal structure is among four characterized by the low potential energy, while prevalence of Delta vs. Lambda configuration about the iron is found to be a property of the entire series. In the second study the crystal structure of a ferrichrome siderophore ferrirhodin is reported. The crystal structure conformation of the molecular backbone as well as the iron coordination geometry compare well with other ferrichrome structures. The differences between the acyl groups of ferrirubin and ferrirhodin are explored using the methods of molecular mechanics. The third study a 300 ps, 300 K, in vacuo molecular dynamics simulation of didemnin A and B yields distinct molecular conformers, which are different from the one found in the crystal structure or modeled in solution, using the Nuclear Overhauser Effect data. Evaluations of the relative potential energy are performed with short 10 ps simulations in solution. Didemnins are natural depsipeptides isolated from a Caribbean tunicate and characterized by particularly potent antiproliferative and immunomodulatory activity. Conformationally rigid and flexible regions of the molecule are described. A short review of the molecular mechanics methodology is given in the introduction.