Protein ligand

In biochemistry, a protein ligand is an atom, a molecule or an ion which can bind to a specific site (the binding site) on a protein. Alternative names used to mean a protein ligand are affinity reagents or protein binders. To date, antibodies are the most widely used protein ligands in life-science investigations, however, other molecules such as protein scaffolds, nucleic acids, peptides are also being used.

Main methods to study protein–ligand interactions are principal hydrodynamic and calorimetric techniques, and principal spectroscopic and structural methods such as

Other techniques include: fluorescence intensity, bimolecular fluorescence complementation, FRET (fluorescent resonance energy transfer) / FRET quenching surface plasmon resonance, Bio-Layer Interferometry, Coimmunopreciptation indirect ELIS, equilibrium dialysis, gel electrophoresis, far western blot, fluorescence polarization anisotropy, electron paramagnetic resonance, Microscale Thermophoresis