In silico insights of L-glutamate: structural features in vacuum and in complex with its receptor

Structural properties of the glutamate in vacuum and in complex with its receptor were analyzed. The analysis was focused on global properties, attempting to characterize features such as overall flexibility and common trends in the conformation set. The glutamate, as other ligands in complex with the receptor, adopts a spatial conformation that corresponds to one of the possible molecular equilibrium states in physiological conditions. The glutamate forms an extended structure for all cases, but the energy of the glutamate round out form is lower than the extended glutamate form. The results showed the glutamate as a flexible molecule, which can easily adapt to different interacting environments, and it can be considered as an approximation to address why glutamate interacts with a great number of molecules.