A multi-grained symmetric differential equation model for learning protein-ligand binding dynamics

Shengchao Liu, Weitao Du, Hannan Xu, Yanjing Li, Zhuoxinran Li, Vignesh Bhethanabotla, Divin Yan, Christian Borgs, Anima Anandkumar, Hongyu Guo, Jennifer Chayes

Abstract: Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is a key tool in drug discovery for predicting protein-ligand binding affinities, transport properties, and pocket dynamics. While advances in numerical and machine learning (ML) methods have improved MD efficiency, accurately modeling long-timescale dynamics remains challenging. We introduce NeuralMD, an ML surrogate that accelerates and enhances MD simulations of protein-ligand binding. NeuralMD employs a physics-informed, multi-grained, group-symmetric framework comprising (1) BindingNet, which enforces symmetry via vector frames and captures multi-level protein-ligand interactions, and (2) an augmented neural differential equation solver that learns trajectories under Newtonian mechanics. Across ten single-trajectory and three multi-trajectory tasks, NeuralMD achieves up to 15 × lower reconstruction error and 70% higher validity than existing ML baselines. The predicted oscillations closely align with ground-truth dynamics, establishing NeuralMD as a foundation for next-generation protein-ligand simulation research. Artificial intelligence is advancing molecular simulation. Here, the authors introduce NeuralMD, a physics-informed AI framework that efficiently models and predicts protein-ligand binding dynamics, providing opportunities for accelerating drug discovery.

External IDs:doi:10.1038/s41467-025-67808-z