Lock and Key

Matching a pocket

An interactive lesson with 4 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• Drugs bind pockets by matching H-bonds, oily patches and charges.
• Each match lowers ΔG; mismatches and desolvation raise it.

Steps

1. A pocket on a protein
2. Design a binder
3. Why not charge everywhere?
4. Induced fit