# 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.

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

## Links

- [Module 5: The Explorer](https://proteindesign.academy/module/5)
- [5.2 Surface Topography and Pocket Detection](https://proteindesign.academy/module/5/2)
- [5.3 Electrostatic Surfaces](https://proteindesign.academy/module/5/3)
- [5.4 Shape Complementarity](https://proteindesign.academy/module/5/4)
- [5.5 Enzyme Catalysis: The Catalytic Triad](https://proteindesign.academy/module/5/5)
- [5.integration Design a Binding Site](https://proteindesign.academy/module/5/integration)
- [Target Acquisition](https://proteindesign.academy/module/5/capstone)