The fоllоwing is аn excerpt frоm а recent scientific publicаtion:“From a chemical point of view, proteins are by far the most structurally complex… structure and chemistry… developed and fine‑tuned over billions of years… location of each amino acid… determines its three‑dimensional shape.... precise shape … determines function.” What evolutionary rationale underlies protein structure–function specificity?
The fоllоwing is аn excerpt frоm а recent scientific publicаtion:“Partial atomic charges are essential for an accurate description of non‑covalent interactions between drug ligands and the MOR… relative to fentanyl, the presence of the fluorine atom in the compound NFEPP alters the partial atomic charges… fentanyl has an overall larger positive charge of the amine system, which could allow stronger H‑bonding to MOR.” According to the excerpt, how does fentanyl’s protonated amine group aid receptor binding?
The fоllоwing is аn excerpt frоm а recent scientific publicаtion:“Force‑field parameters derived for morphine, heroin, and oliceridine will enable reliable molecular simulations to explore how the MOR responds to the binding of distinct opioid drugs… computations performed during parametrization… revealed that significant improvement was required for the correct description of torsional potentials involving thiophene bonds—for example… suggesting fentanyl and NFEPP likely have different conformational dynamics.” What aspect of heroin (and related opioids) is described as critical to accurately modeling noncovalent binding to MOR?