Efficient parameterization of torsional terms for force fields

A novel method is presented for fitting force-field dihedral angles using an ensemble of structures generated from an ab initio Monte Carlo simulation. Importance sampling is used to achieve an efficient algorithm using a low level of theory to minimize the system at each step with the dihedral angles constrained, followed by dihedral fitting using the single point energies at a higher level of theory. The resulting method is an order of …