Designed binders for flat protein surfaces

Abstract

Most small-molecule drugs need a deep pocket, and many disease proteins do not have one. We used our design model to make binders for six flat protein surfaces, using many small contacts instead of one pocket. 31 of 48 designs bound their target with a KD under 1 µM (BLI), and 9 bound under 10 nM.

Citation

Rivera A, Okafor L, Patel S, Chen M. Designed binders for flat protein surfaces. Sample Preprint Server. 2026. Not peer reviewed.