Cited by 16,914Protein Structure and DynamicsParallel Computing and Optimization TechniquesAdvanced Physical and Chemical Molecular Interactions

Scalable molecular dynamics with NAMD

Open access
Phillips, James C., Braun, Rosemary, Wang, Wei, Gumbart, James, Tajkhorshid, Emad, Villa, Elizabeth, Chipot, Christophe, Skeel, Robert D. +2 more·2005·Journal of Computational Chemistry

Abstract

NAMD is a parallel molecular dynamics code designed for high‐performance simulation of large biomolecular systems. NAMD scales to hundreds of processors on high‐end parallel platforms, as well as tens of processors on low‐cost commodity clusters, and also runs on individual desktop and laptop computers. NAMD works with AMBER and CHARMM potential functions, parameters, and file formats. This article, directed to novices as well as experts, first introduces concepts and methods used in the NAMD program, describing the classical molecular dynamics force field, equations of motion, and integration methods along with the efficient electrostatics evaluation algorithms employed and temperature and pressure controls used. Features for steering the simulation across barriers and for calculating both alchemical and conformational free energy differences are presented. The motivations for and a roadmap to the internal design of NAMD, implemented in C++ and based on Charm++ parallel objects, are outlined. The factors affecting the serial and parallel performance of a simulation are discussed. Finally, typical NAMD use is illustrated with representative applications to a small, a medium, and a large biomolecular system, highlighting particular features of NAMD, for example, the Tcl scripting language. The article also provides a list of the key features of NAMD and discusses the benefits of combining NAMD with the molecular graphics/sequence analysis software VMD and the grid computing/collaboratory software BioCoRE. NAMD is distributed free of charge with source code at www.ks.uiuc.edu. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 26: 1781–1802, 2005

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1002/jcc.20289

Cites

1 of 1 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Phillips, J. C., Braun, R., Wang, W., Gumbart, J., Tajkhorshid, E., Villa, E., Chipot, C., Skeel, R. D., Kalé, L., & Schulten, K.
Affiliations
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
Corresponding author
Schulten, Klaus
Venue
Journal of Computational Chemistry
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2005-10-12
Volume
26
Issue
16
Pages
1781-1802
ISSN
  • 0192-8651 (ISSN-L)
  • 1096-987X
OpenAlex
W2150981663
Cited by
16,914
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 403 · 2025: 624 · 2024: 755 · 2023: 743 · 2022: 943 · 2021: 1148 · 2020: 1268 · 2019: 1222 · 2018: 1218 · 2017: 1154 · 2016: 1144 · 2015: 1029 · 2014: 1046 · 2013: 969 · 2012: 843
FWCI
82.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Computational Chemistry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Center for Research Resources (NIH P41 RR05969, P41RR005969)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Structure and Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Hardware and Architecture › Parallel Computing and Optimization Techniques
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Physical and Theoretical Chemistry › Advanced Physical and Chemical Molecular Interactions
Keywords
neovascular age-related macular degeneration, parallel molecular dynamics, biomolecular simulation, force fields, equations of motion, integration techniques, temperature and pressure control, free energy calculation, alchemical free energy, conformational free energy, charm, Tcl scripting, VMD, grid computing, simulation performance
MeSH terms
Algorithms, Cell Membrane, Computer Simulation, Glycophorins, Models, Biological, Models, Chemical, Models, Molecular, Repressor Proteins, Software, Software Design, Aquaporins, Ubiquitin, Static Electricity

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review