5.1 Molecules 101: What Proteins Bind

Molecules 101: What Proteins Bind (Module 5: The Explorer). Key concept: Binding partners & chemical features. Identify the four major categories of binding partner a protein encounters.

• Identify the four major categories of binding partner a protein encounters
• Spot hydrogen bond donors and acceptors, hydrophobic groups and charges on a small molecule
• Apply Lipinski’s Rule of Five, and recognise where it stops applying
• Explain how a protein–protein interface differs from a small-molecule site: flatter, larger, and harder to drug