OPTESIM, a versatile toolbox for numerical simulation of electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) that features hybrid optimization and statistical assessment of parameters

J Magn Reson. 2009 Sep;200(1):21-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jmr.2009.05.012. Epub 2009 May 29.

Abstract

Electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) is a technique of pulsed-electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The analyis of ESEEM data to extract information about the nuclear and electronic structure of a disordered (powder) paramagnetic system requires accurate and efficient numerical simulations. A single coupled nucleus of known nuclear g value (g(N)) and spin I=1 can have up to eight adjustable parameters in the nuclear part of the spin Hamiltonian. We have developed OPTESIM, an ESEEM simulation toolbox, for automated numerical simulation of powder two- and three-pulse one-dimensional ESEEM for arbitrary number (N) and type (I, g(N)) of coupled nuclei, and arbitrary mutual orientations of the hyperfine tensor principal axis systems for N>1. OPTESIM is based in the Matlab environment, and includes the following features: (1) a fast algorithm for translation of the spin Hamiltonian into simulated ESEEM, (2) different optimization methods that can be hybridized to achieve an efficient coarse-to-fine grained search of the parameter space and convergence to a global minimum, (3) statistical analysis of the simulation parameters, which allows the identification of simultaneous confidence regions at specific confidence levels. OPTESIM also includes a geometry-preserving spherical averaging algorithm as default for N>1, and global optimization over multiple experimental conditions, such as the dephasing time (tau) for three-pulse ESEEM, and external magnetic field values. Application examples for simulation of (14)N coupling (N=1, N=2) in biological and chemical model paramagnets are included. Automated, optimized simulations by using OPTESIM lead to a convergence on dramatically shorter time scales, relative to manual simulations.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Computer Simulation
  • Copper / chemistry
  • Data Interpretation, Statistical
  • Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy / instrumentation
  • Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy / methods*
  • Enzymes / chemistry
  • Ethanolamine Ammonia-Lyase / chemistry
  • Histamine / chemistry
  • Models, Molecular
  • Models, Statistical
  • Nitrogen Isotopes
  • Powders
  • Salmonella / enzymology
  • Software
  • Spin Labels

Substances

  • Enzymes
  • Nitrogen Isotopes
  • Powders
  • Spin Labels
  • Copper
  • Histamine
  • Ethanolamine Ammonia-Lyase