Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Protein Target Prediction and Validation of Small Molecule Compound
Published on: February 23, 2024
Computational study of ligand binding to protein receptors
Paul Wembridge1, Heather Robinson, Igor Novak
1Faculty of Science, Charles Sturt University, Leeds Pde, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia.
Abstract:
We have determined, for the first time, the enthalpic contributions to the energy change associated with ligand reorganization (LR) upon the binding of the same ligand to multiple sites within human serum albumine (HSA). Quantum mechanics based density functional theory (DFT) has been used for the LR calculations, which provides much better accuracy than previously used molecular mechanics methods (MM). Our findings show that for some ligands these enthalpic contributions can be attributed to specific structural and conformational changes.
Related Concept Videos
Ligand Binding Sites
Protein-ligand interactions are quite specific; even though numerous potential ligands surround a cellular protein at any given time, only a particular ligand can bind to that protein. Moreover, a ligand binds only to a dedicated area on the surface of the protein, known as the...
Ligand Binding Sites
Protein-ligand interactions are quite specific; even though numerous potential ligands surround a cellular protein at any given time, only a particular ligand can bind to that protein. Moreover, a ligand binds only to a dedicated area on the surface of the protein, known as the...
The Equilibrium Binding Constant and Binding Strength
Conserved Binding Sites
Binding sites are often located in large pockets, and if their location on a protein’s surface is unknown, it can be predicted using various approaches. The energetic method computationally analyses the...
G Protein-coupled Receptors
GPCRs are also called heptahelical, 7TM, or serpentine receptors, and consist of seven (H1-H7) transmembrane alpha-helices that span the bilayer to form a cylindrical core. The transmembrane helices are connected by three extracellular loops and three...
Ligand Binding and Linkage
