High level ab initio and density functional calculations have been employed to determine the most appropriate manner in which to truncate an arginine-bound carboxylate motif, using the substrate mechanism of Pyruvate Formate-Lyase as a case study. The results show that, both qualitatively and quantitatively, a neutral carboxylic acid provides a more realistic approximation to the salt bridge arrangement than does a bare anionic carboxylate substituent. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]