An Adaptive, Finite Difference Solver for the Nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann Equation with Applications to Biomolecular Computations
Year: 2013
Communications in Computational Physics, Vol. 13 (2013), Iss. 1 : pp. 150–173
Abstract
We present a solver for the Poisson-Boltzmann equation and demonstrate its applicability for biomolecular electrostatics computation. The solver uses a level set framework to represent sharp, complex interfaces in a simple and robust manner. It also uses non-graded, adaptive octree grids which, in comparison to uniform grids, drastically decrease memory usage and runtime without sacrificing accuracy. The basic solver was introduced in earlier works [16, 27], and here is extended to address biomolecular systems. First, a novel approach of calculating the solvent excluded and the solvent accessible surfaces is explained; this allows to accurately represent the location of the molecule's surface. Next, a hybrid finite difference/finite volume approach is presented for discretizing the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation and enforcing the jump boundary conditions at the interface. Since the interface is implicitly represented by a level set function, imposing the jump boundary conditions is straightforward and efficient.
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Journal Article Details
Publisher Name: Global Science Press
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4208/cicp.290711.181011s
Communications in Computational Physics, Vol. 13 (2013), Iss. 1 : pp. 150–173
Published online: 2013-01
AMS Subject Headings: Global Science Press
Copyright: COPYRIGHT: © Global Science Press
Pages: 24