Collaborative Research: On calculating polar solvation and binding energies for non-rigid proteins in the Poisson-Boltzmann theory: modeling, analysis and application

NSF Award Search · 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT · $174,976 · view on nsf.gov ↗

Abstract

Electrostatic free energy (EFE) calculations are indispensable for the quantitative analysis of biological processes, as they characterize the polar interactions between charged biomolecules such as proteins, DNA and RNA, and their surrounding ionic solvent environments. As one of the most widely used implicit solvent models, the Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) model computes EFE as the difference between PB energies of biomolecules in two reference states, typically vacuum and solvent. The success of classical PB theory relies on two restrictive assumptions: (i) biomolecules remain rigid and do not change shape when moving between states, and (ii) identical computational procedures are used for both states. However, under physiological conditions, proteins are inherently flexible and undergo conformational changes during solvation and binding. This project aims to overcome the rigidity limitation by introducing a generalized PB theory that accommodates non-rigid biomolecular structures. This enables PB models to handle shape changes in key biological processes such as solvation and binding. The proposed algorithms will be implemented in DelPhi, an open-source PB package, and they will be applied to other popular PB solvers in the form of post-processing patches. The new computational tools will be distributed free of charge to academic users, making them accessible to the broader biological research community. In addition, this project will provide interdisciplinary research and t

Key facts

NSF award ID
2512105
Awardee
Clemson University (SC)
SAM.gov UEI
H2BMNX7DSKU8
PI
Emil Alexov
Primary program
01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
All programs
Biotechnology, EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES, COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE & ENGING
Estimated total
$174,976
Funds obligated
$174,976
Transaction type
Standard Grant
Period
09/01/2025 → 08/31/2028