|
|
||
|
NAMD Pair Interaction Tutorial |
||
|
|
||
In this tutorial, you will learn how to calculate the forces between groups of atoms and their evolution over a ready trajectory file (.dcd). |
||
|
Preparing Trajectory Analysis Configuration Script |
||
This configuration file uses "run 0" command of NAMD which outputs the pair interaction energies and forces over the trajectory file without performing any dynamics. A sample script would go like this: |
||
**************** |
||
# initial config # output params # integrator params # 2 fs step size # force field params # provide information about the cell size # Atoms in group 1 have a 1 in the B column; group 2 has a 2. This script will calculate their interaction forces # First frame saved was frame 0. # this line opens the .dcd file for reading and deriving energies # Read all frames until nonzero is returned. |
||
**************** |
||
Now we are ready to get the time dependent force vectors using NAMD. Before that, let's analyze pair.pdb file. |
||
![]() |
||
In pair.pdb file, we modified the B-Factor column so that, the protein atoms are in group 1, and water molecules and ions are in group 2. Down the line, we will find the interaction energy between water+ion and the protein. Also, we will find the force exerted on the protein by water. |
||
Running the Script |
||
Connect to your hyper computer terminal. Unzip this folder and load it to your account space in hyper computer. This folder includes files that were generated during a full NAMD run. Go to the folder run1/. In the command line type: |
||
/usr/local/bin/namd2 osman.conf > osman.log |
||
Starting this script will generate a new file named osman.log. In this file, you can find the force vector components and the energies of interaction. Let's look at this log file: |
||
![]() |
||
In this file, we see the pair interaction information, the energies and forces calculated for each .dcd frame. The format of the force line is PAIR INTERACTION: STEP: step VDW_FORCE: fx fy fz ELECT_FORCE: fx fy fz. The displayed force is the force on atoms in group 1 and is units of kcal/mol/Å. For example, at step 0, the VDW forces applied by water and ions on the protein in the x-direction is -3.3021. |
||
Possible Extensions |
||
If you want to calculate the changing forces between two residues 41 and 43 for example, go to the B-Factor columns of residue 41 and 43 and write their group names (1.00, 2.00) there. Set all the other B-Factor values equal to 0.00. If you want to find all the force vectors acting on residue 41 seperately, you should write an extra script that calls /usr/local/bin/namd2 osman.conf > osman.log each time modifying pair.pdb accordingly. Running this extra script through the command line is not good at all for the hyper computer. Please use a hyper computer job submission file for that script as it takes quite a long time calculating forces. |
||