COSMOplex Simulation of Inhomogeneous Self-Organizing Liquids

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing quasi-chemical methods, such as COSMO-RS and COSMOmic, are limited to simulating homogeneous liquid systems and require external information for inhomogeneous systems, restricting their application to infinite dilution and necessitating costly molecular dynamics simulations.

Innovation Solution

The COSMOplex method introduces a pressure energy penalty to account for spatial overcrowding, allowing quasi-chemical calculations to simulate inhomogeneous systems without external information, by incorporating pressure as an additional continuum response function to influence thermodynamic weights and achieve self-organized molecular distributions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If molecular dynamics simulations are used to simulate inhomogeneous liquid systems, then the simulation accuracy and applicability to self-organizing systems is improved, but the computational time and resource requirements increase by about 4 orders of magnitude

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesimulation accuracyVSAvoidcomputational time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the molecular system into surface segments rather than treating entire molecules as units. This segmentation allows quasi-chemical methods to capture pairwise interactions between surface segments, enabling accurate simulation of inhomogeneous systems without requiring explicit simulation of all molecular degrees of freedom, thus reducing computational time while maintaining reliability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the fundamental parameters of the simulation approach by transitioning from explicit molecular coordinates and dynamics to a quasi-chemical model based on surface segment distributions and pairwise interaction energies. This parameter transformation enables the use of statistical thermodynamics to predict molecular distributions in inhomogeneous systems with much lower computational cost

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If quasi-chemical methods like COSMO-RS are used for simulation, then computational efficiency is improved by about 4 orders of magnitude, but the applicability is limited to homogeneous liquid systems only

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecomputational efficiencyVSAvoidapplicability to inhomogeneous systems
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extends the quasi-chemical approach from homogeneous bulk liquids to inhomogeneous systems by introducing spatial dimensionality through surface segment position vectors. The method calculates pairwise interactions between surface segments at different positions, enabling the modeling of concentration gradients, interfaces, and self-organizing structures while maintaining computational efficiency

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces surface segments as intermediary entities between whole molecules and continuous density fields. These surface segments serve as discrete interaction units that capture molecular identity and geometry while enabling efficient statistical thermodynamic calculations in inhomogeneous environments, bridging the gap between molecular and continuum descriptions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If COSMOmic method is used to simulate inhomogeneous systems, then the ability to handle layered structures is improved, but the method remains limited to infinite dilution and requires external information from expensive MD simulations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecapability to simulate layered structuresVSAvoiddependence on external information
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent makes the quasi-chemical method self-sufficient by enabling it to predict molecular distributions in inhomogeneous systems directly from first principles, without requiring external structural information from MD simulations. The method automatically determines concentration profiles and molecular arrangements by minimizing the grand canonical potential, making the system self-describing and eliminating dependence on expensive external data

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

COSMOplex significantly reduces computational demands, achieving simulations 1000 to 10000 times faster than MD simulations, enabling efficient simulation of inhomogeneous systems like micelles, biomembranes, and liquid interfaces with high accuracy.

Implementation Method 1

The invention comprises a generalization of the COSMOmic concept to the self-consistent simulation of inhomogeneous, self-organizing systems by the introduction of a pressure energy penalty, supplementing the other energy contributions, especially the quasi-chemical energy, of a molecule in a certain state within the inhomogeneous system.

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectPressure energy penalty: Pressure Increase

Implementation Method 2

the Boltzmann factor, exp(−ΔE/RT), with R being the ideal gas constant and T the temperature

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectBoltzmann distribution:

Data Source

PatentEP3769311B1Cosmoplex: self-consistent simulation of self-organizing systems
Publication Date: 2025.11.19 DASSAULT SYSTEMS AMERICAS CORP
  • EP3769311B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3769311B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3769311B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A method for simulation, in particular for computerized calculation, of at least one physical property of a system of one or more chemical species that includes at least one chemical species dissolved in at least one inhomogeneously distributed chemical species, using a quasi-chemical calculation based on the statistical thermodynamics of pairwise interactions of molecule surface segments. According to the invention, pressure, that arises from the statistical thermodynamic over- or underpopulation of spatial regions, interacts as an additional continuum response function with the atomic volumes and thus influences the thermodynamic weight of a molecular state in the system, during the iterative calculation of the statistical thermodynamic distribution of molecules in 1-dimensionally, 2-dimensionally, or 3-dimensionally structured simulation volumes of liquid systems.