Partial charge | EPFL Graph Search

In atomic physics, a partial charge (or net atomic charge) is a non-integer charge value when measured in elementary charge units. It is represented by the Greek lowercase delta (𝛿), namely 𝛿− or 𝛿+. Partial charges are created due to the asymmetric distribution of electrons in chemical bonds. For example, in a polar covalent bond like HCl, the shared electron oscillates between the bonded atoms. The resulting partial charges are a property only of zones within the distribution, and not the assemblage as a whole. For example, chemists often choose to look at a small space surrounding the nucleus of an atom: When an electrically neutral atom bonds chemically to another neutral atom that is more electronegative, its electrons are partially drawn away. This leaves the region about that atom's nucleus with a partial positive charge, and it creates a partial negative charge on the atom to which it is bonded. In such a situation, the distributed charges taken as a group always carries a

The large charge expansion and AdS/CFT

Anton Reyes De La Fuente, Jann Zosso

The scaling dimensions of charged operators in conformal field theory were recently computed in a large charge expansion. We verify this expansion in a dual AdS model. Specifically, we numerically construct solitonic boson star solutions of Einstein-Maxwell-Scalar theory in AdS4 and find that its mass at large charge reproduces the universal form of the lowest operator dimension in the large U(1) charge sector of the dual 2+1 dimensional CFT.

SPRINGER2020

AMBER and CHARMM Force Fields Inconsistently Portray the Microscopic Details of Phosphorylation

Veronika Juraskova

Phosphorylation of serine, threonine, and tyrosine is one of the most frequently occurring and crucial post-translational modifications of proteins often associated with important structural and functional changes. We investigated the direct effect of phosphorylation on the intrinsic conformational preferences of amino acids as a potential trigger of larger structural events. We conducted a comparative study of force fields on terminally capped amino acids (dipeptides) as the simplest model for phosphorylation. Our bias-exchange metadynamics simulations revealed that all model dipeptides sampled a great heterogeneity of ensembles affected by introduction of mono- and dianionic phosphate groups. However, the detected changes in populations of backbone conformers and side-chain rotamers did not reveal a strong discriminatory shift in preferences, as could be anticipated for the bulky, charged phosphate group. Furthermore, the AMBER and CHARMM force fields provided inconsistent populations of individual conformers as well as net structural trends upon phosphorylation. Detailed analysis of ensembles revealed competition between hydration and formation of internal hydrogen bonds involving amide hydrogens and the phosphate group. The observed difference in hydration free energy and potential for hydrogen bonding in individual force fields could be attributed to the different partial atomic charges used in each force field and, hence, the different parametrization strategies. Nevertheless, conformational propensities and net structural changes upon phosphorylation are difficult to extract from experimental measurements, and existing experimental data provide limited guidance for force field assessment and further development.

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2019

Formation and reactivity of inorganic and organic chloramines and bromamines during oxidative water treatment

Jeremy Samuel Arey, Michèle Bernadette Heeb, Daniela Trogolo, Urs von Gunten

The formation and further reactions of halamines during oxidative water treatment can be relevant for water quality. In this study, we investigated the formation and reactivity of several inorganic and organic halamines (monochloramine, N-chloromethylamine, N-chlorodimethylamine, monobromamine, dibromamine, N-bromomethylamine, N,N-dibromomethylamine, and N-bromodimethylamine) by kinetic experiments, transformation product analysis, and quantum chemical computations. Kinetic model simulations were conducted to evaluate the relevance of halamines for various water treatment scenarios. Halamines were quickly formed from the reaction of chlorine and bromine with ammonia or organic amines. Species-specific second-order rate constants for the reaction of chlorine and bromine with ammonia, methyl- and dimethylamine were in the order of 10(6)-10(8) M(-1)s(-1). The formed halamines were found to be reactive towards phenolic compounds, forming halogenated phenols via electrophilic aromatic substitution (phenol and resorcinol) or quinones via electron transfer (catechol and hydroquinone). At near neutral pH, apparent second-order rate constants for these reactions were in the order of 10(-4)-10(-1) M(-1)s(-1) for chloramines and 10(1)-10(2) M(-1)s(-1) for bromamines. Quantum chemical computations were used to determine previously unknown aqueous pK(a) values, gas phase bond dissociation energies (BDE) and partial atomic charges of the halamines, allowing a better understanding of their reactivities. Kinetic model simulations, based on the results of this study, showed that during zhlorination inorganic and organic chloramines are the main halamines formed. However, their further reactions with organic matter are outcompeted kinetically by chlorine. During ozonation, mainly inorganic bromamines are formed, since ozone quickly oxidizes organic amines. The further reactions of bromamine are typically outcompeted by ozone and thus generally of minor importance. The use of peracetic acid for saline ballast water treatment can result in the formation of substantial amounts of bromamines, which can react with dissolved organic matter and contribute to the formation of brominated products. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elsevier2017

Formation and reactivity of inorganic and organic chloramines and bromamines during oxidative water treatment

Jeremy Samuel Arey, Michèle Bernadette Heeb, Daniela Trogolo, Urs von Gunten

Elsevier2017