Simulation of electron spin resonance spectroscopy in diverse environments: An integrated approach

We discuss in this work a new software tool, named E-SpiReS (Electron Spin Resonance Simulations), aimed at the interpretation of dynamical properties of molecules in fluids from electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements. The code implements an integrated computational approach (ICA) for the calculation of relevant molecular properties that are needed in order to obtain spectral lines. The protocol encompasses information from atomistic level (quantum mechanical) to coarse grained level (hydrodynamical), and evaluates ESR spectra for rigid or flexible single or multi-labeled paramagnetic molecules in isotropic and ordered phases, based on a numerical solution of a stochastic Liouville equation.E-SpiReS automatically interfaces all the computational methodologies scheduled in the ICA in a way completely transparent for the user, who controls the whole calculation flow via a graphical interface.Parallelized algorithms are employed in order to allow running on calculation clusters, and a web applet Java has been developed with which it is possible to work from any operating system, avoiding the problems of recompilation.E-SpiReS has been used in the study of a number of different systems and two relevant cases are reported to underline the promising applicability of the ICA to complex systems and the importance of similar software tools in handling a laborious protocol.

Program summary

Program title: E-SpiReSCatalogue identifier: AEEM_v1_0Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEEM_v1_0.htmlProgram obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. IrelandLicensing provisions: GPL v2.0No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 311 761No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 10 039 531Distribution format: tar.gzProgramming language: C (core programs) and Java (graphical interface)Computer: PC and MacintoshOperating system: Unix and WindowsHas the code been vectorized or parallelized?: YesRAM: 2 048 000 000Classification: 7.2External routines: Babel-1.1, CLAPACK, BLAS, CBLAS, SPARSEBLAS, CQUADPACK, LEVMARNature of problem:Ab initio simulation of cw-ESR spectra of radicals in solutionSolution method: E-SpiReS uses an hydrodynamic approach to calculate the diffusion tensor of the molecule, DFT methodologies to evaluate magnetic tensors and linear algebra techniques to solve numerically the stochastic Liouville equation to obtain an ESR spectrum.Running time: Variable depending on the task. It takes seconds for small molecules in the fast motional regime to hours for big molecules in viscous and/or ordered media.