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Sofía Calero

Publications and source records attributed to Sofía Calero.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Understanding the role of sodium during adsorption: a force field for alkanes in sodium-exchanged faujasites.

We have developed a united atom force field able to accurately describe the adsorption properties of linear alkanes in the sodium form of FAU-type zeolites. This force field successfully reproduces experimental adsorption properties of n-alkanes over a wide range of sodium cation densities, temperatures, and pressures. The force field reproduces the sodium positions in dehydrated FAU-type zeolites known from crystallography, and it predicts how the sodium cations redistribute when n-alkanes adsorb. The cations in the sodalite cages are significantly more sensitive to the n-alkane loading than those in the supercages. We provide a simple expression that adequately describes the n-alkane Henry coefficient and adsorption enthalpy as a function of sodium density and temperature at low coverage. This expression affords an adequate substitute for complex configurational-bias Monte Carlo simulations. The applicability of the force field is by no means limited to low pressure and pure adsorbates, for it also successfully reproduces the adsorption from binary mixtures at high pressure.

Journal Article↗

Modelling of the complex between a 15-residue peptide from mSos2 and the N-terminal SH3 domain of Grb2 by molecular-dynamics simulation.

Under specific conditions, the complex formed by the adaptor protein Grb2 and the guanine-nucleotide exchange factor Sos2 is responsible for the activation of Ras, a low-molecular-weight GTPase involved in the control of cell proliferation and differentiation. The interaction between the N-terminal SH3 domain of the mouse Grb2 and one of its potential target sequences in the mouse, Sos2, a 15-residue peptide corresponding to residues 1264-1278, had been studied by NMR. However, the resulting data provided very limited information on the structure of the peptide and its interaction with the protein. Here, we present results from a molecular-dynamics simulation aimed at producing a realistic, atomic model for the interaction between the N-terminal SH3 domain of Grb2 and the SPLLPKLPPKTYKRE peptide from Sos2. In the simulation, the peptide adopts an extended conformation over the protein's binding surface. The proposed polyproline-type-II helicity appears only locally, and the peptide displays substantial flexibility. It is found that the peptide residues Lys10 to Tyr12 could be responsible for most of the specificity of the interaction.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Structure of liquids composed of shifted dipole linear molecules.

Simulation results for liquids composed of linear molecules interacting through dispersion forces and off-center dipoles are presented. Remarkable differences are found on the vapor-liquid equilibrium respect to that of centered dipole molecules. Even more remarkable is the appearance of additional short-range liquid structure at relatively large dipoles and aspect ratios. The existence of dipole dimers is clearly established, and some suggestions allowing for the correspondence between a particular macroscopic phenomenology and a particular dispersion potential function are presented.

Journal Article↗