Efficient Empirical Valence Bond Simulations with GROMACS

We describe a protocol to perform empirical valence bond (EVB) simulations using GROMACS software. EVB is a fast and reliable method that allows one to determine the reaction free-energy profiles in complex systems, such as enzymes, by employing classical force fields to represent a chemical reaction. Therefore, running EVB simulations is basically as fast as any classical molecular dynamics simulation, and the method uses standard free-energy calculations to map the free-energy change along a given reaction path. To exemplify and validate our EVB implementation, we replicated two cases of our earlier enzyme simulations. One of these addresses the decomposition of the activation free energy into its enthalpic and entropic components, and the other is focused on calculating the overall catalytic effect of the enzyme compared to the same reaction in water. These two examples give virtually identical results to those obtained with programs that were specifically designed for EVB simulations and show that the GROMACS implementation is robust and can be used for very large systems.