Module 5: The Explorer

Function & Molecular Recognition

Explore how proteins bind ligands, catalyze reactions, and recognize partners.

• Identify what proteins bind, and the chemical features that make a molecule bindable
• Locate pockets on a molecular surface and judge which of them are druggable
• Read electrostatic surfaces and apply charge complementarity to a binding problem
• Assess shape complementarity and buried surface area at an interface
• Explain how a catalytic triad works and why its geometry has so little tolerance
• Design a binding site by carving a pocket and lining it with complementary residues