The Kernel Energy Method: application to a tRNA.

The Kernel Energy Method (KEM) may be used to calculate quantum mechanical molecular energy by the use of several model chemistries. Simplification is obtained by mathematically breaking a large molecule into smaller parts, called kernels. The full molecule is reassembled from calculations carried out on the kernels. KEM is as yet untested for RNA, and such a test is the purpose here. The basic kernel for RNA is a nucleotide that in general may differ from those of DNA. RNA is a single strand rather than the double helix of DNA. KEM energy has been calculated for a tRNA, whose crystal structure is known, and which contains 2,565 atoms. The energy is calculated to be E = -108,995.1668 (a.u.), in the Hartree-Fock approximation, using a limited basis. Interaction energies are found to be consistent with the hydrogen-bonding scheme previously found. In this paper, the range of biochemical molecules, susceptible of quantum studies by means of the KEM, have been broadened to include RNA.