Binder Puzzle

The category covers a specialized type of design puzzle. Puzzles in this category usually involve designing a protein to bind to another protein, usually known as the target. Some binder puzzles may have non-protein targets.

In most binder puzzles, the target is mainly locked. Protein targets may have unlocked sidechains, but generally won't have any mutable segments. Protein targets may include immune system components and receptors found on the surface of cells. Protein targets may also disease components, such as the spike protein found of the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virion.

The binder target may also be a ligand, a non-protein molecule.

Binder puzzles have a wide variety of targets. Some examples include:

Immune system and cell surface receptor targets:

• IL-2R Binder Design
• IL-7R Binder Redesign
• Coronavirus Anti-inflammatory Design
• TGF Receptor Binder Design
• CD47 Binder Design
• Tie2 Binder Design

Ligand targets:

• Aflatoxin
• Cortisol Ligand Binder Design
• Olivetolic Acid Ligand Binder Design

Virus targets:

• MERS-CoV Binder Design
• Coronavirus Binder Design

Miscellaneous targets:

• Cubane FeS Binder