Q2MM stands for quantum (mechanics) to molecular mechanics or quantum guided molecular mechanics, depending on what you prefer. Q2MM is open source software for force field optimization.
Q2MM uses Python 2.7.4. I'm reluctant to use more recent versions of Python because as far as I know, Schrödinger still uses 2.7.4.
The following modules are required, but are included in the standard library for Python 2.7.4.
- argparse
- collections
- copy
- glob
- itertools
- logging
- mmap
- os
- random
- re
- string
- sqlite3
- subprocess
- sys
- textwrap
- time
These are required, but aren't in the standard library.
- numpy
Required for particular features.
- schrodinger
If you'd like to use Schrödinger features, they recommend running external Python scripts using
$SCHRODINGER/run somepythoncode.py
You can get help for most python Q2MM scripts using the command line. Here's an example.
python calculate.py -h
These force field files are labeled mm3.fld. Our custom parameters are stored
in substructures towards the end of theses files. For information on these
substructures, see the MacroModel reference manual.
Substructures are marked for optimization by adding the word "OPT" to their title. For example, you could name your substructure "New Metal Parameters OPT". Running
python parameters.py -f pathtomm3.fld -a -pp
will print a list of the parameters that Q2MM identified. You can redirect the output parameter list to a file using standard Unix redirection.
python parameters.py -f pathtomm3fld -a -pp > params.txt
Here's an example of what params.txt might look like.
1854 1 0.0 inf
1854 2 0.0 inf
1854 3 -inf inf
1855 1 0.0 inf
1855 2 0.0 inf
1856 1 -inf inf
1856 2 -inf inf
1856 3 -inf inf
The first column refers to the line of the force field file where the parameter
is located. The second column is an index refering to the location of the
parameter in that line. For Schrödinger and mm3.fld, equilibrium bond lengths
are found in column 1, force constants in column 2, dipoles in column 3, etc.
See Schrödinger's documentation and the documentation inside
parameters.
The 3rd and 4th column in params.txt are optional and specify the allowed
parameter range. These values can be any floating points. Also, "inf" is used to
signify the parameter can go to infinity. If the 3rd and 4th column aren't
included, Q2MM will attempt to identify suitable parameter ranges based upon the
parameter type.
Currently, these parameter ranges are hard walls. In other words, if a step is made to move outside that wall, the step is simply scaled down to not go too far. Ideally, we should implement soft walls in the future.
To select only certain types of parameters, use
python parameters.py -f mm3.fld -pt bf af
This command would print t
7CC9
he bond and angle force constants in the format
described above. See the help dialogue for
parameters for more information.
I would always recommend making a backup of your force field before beginning an optimization.
The loop module uses customized input files to manage the optimization of parameters. You can supply the input file using the simple command shown below.
python loop.py someinputfile
Here's an example of what the input file could look like.
DIR somedir
FFLD read mm3.fld # This is a comment.
PARM params.txt
RDAT -d somedir -je str_a.mae str_b.mae str_c.mae -je str_d.mae str_e.mae -jb str_a.mae str_b.mae str_c.mae str_d.mae str_e.mae
CDAT -d somedir -me str_a.mae str_b.mae str_c.mae -me str_d.mae str_e.mae -mb str_a.mae str_b.mae str_c.mae str_d.mae str_e.mae
COMP -o opt_start.txt
# Here's another comment.
LOOP 0.15
GRAD
SIMP
END
LOOP 0.05
GRAD
END
FFLD write smm3.fld
CDAT
COMP -o opt_end.txt
Let's breakdown each line.
DIR somedir
This sets the directory where all the data files, atom.typ, and mm3.fld
files are located. Also, the MacroModel calculations will be run from this
directory, and Q2MM intermediate or temporary files will be written here.
FFLD read mm3.fld
Read the initial force field.
PARM params.txt
Select certain parameters from the force field you just read. Without this, all parameters in the substructre are selected.
RDAT -d somedir -je str_a.mae str_b.mae str_c.mae -je str_d.mae str_e.mae -jb str_a.mae str_b.mae str_c.mae str_d.mae str_e.mae
This gathers the reference data used throughout the optimization. All of the
arguments following RDAT are the same as the arguments used for the calculate
module. See
calculate help for more information. Note that the
directory is still included in the command shown above.
CDAT -d somedir -me str_a.mae str_b.mae str_c.mae -me str_d.mae str_e.mae -mb str_a.mae str_b.mae str_c.mae str_d.mae str_e.mae
Same as above, except this is for the force field data.
COMP -o opt_start.txt
Compare the reference data to the force field data to determine the initial objective function score. Write the data and scores out to somedir/opt_start.txt.
LOOP 0.15
This marks the beginning of an optimization loop. All commands located between
this line and the line containg END will be repeated until convergence is
reached. In this case, it loops back and forth between
gradient and
simplex
until the objective function changes by less than 15%.
GRAD
Use the gradient methods to optimize parameters. See the
gradient module for
more information.
SIMP
Use the simplex method to optimize parameters. See the
simplex module for more information.
END
Marks the end of the commands being looped.
LOOP 0.05
Start another loop, but this time with a stricter convergence of 5% change. Really, you will hardly ever need to include two separate loops. I'm just showing you that you can if you want to for whatever reason.
GRAD
In this loop, we're only using the
gradient method.
END
Marks the end of the second loop.
FFLD write mm3.fld
Write the optimized force field parammeters to somedir/mm3.fld.
CDAT
Calculate the force field data again. If CDAT is used without additional
arguments, as shown here, then it remembers the previously entered arguments and
repeats them. Calculating the force field data again here may seem excessive,
but I wanted to make sure that the FF data stored in memory was calculated using
the most recent optimized parameters. Better safe than sorry!
COMP -o opt_end.txt
Compare the reference and force field data for the optimized force field. Note
that the reference data remains the same through this entire command file, so
there's no need for me to use another RDAT command. Write the data and scores
out to somedir/opt_end.txt. At this point, it would be wise to examine
mm3.fld. Check that the parameters seem reasonable, and cross-check them with
the backed up original parameters.