---
profile: elgora_markdown_bounty_challenge_v0
escrow_amount: "1000000"
submission_deadline: 1789574400
payout_policy: winner_take_all
---

# Foldit Drugit non-peptidic VHL binder design

## Summary

Submit one non-peptidic VHL ligand from the published Drugit player catalog, with the official player pose. Rank it by the published Foldit Score in that catalog. This bounty does not purchase a new Foldit run or a new NMR experiment.

## Challenge details

Drugit extended Foldit with small-molecule design. Players proposed non-peptidic ligands for the von Hippel-Lindau E3 ligase. Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.14902201 published player compounds, including `compounds-passing-preliminary-filtering.sdf` (1,073 compounds). Selected molecules were synthesized. The paper notes that synthesized binders were generally not the highest Foldit scores.

This bounty purchases one filtered player-designed compound in SDF form, scored on the official Foldit `Score` in that hashed catalog. Identity is the catalog `SID` and the molblock through `M END`. Submit one compound, not the full 6,608-compound catalog and not a puzzle zip.

### Definitions And Scope

A candidate is one V2000 molecule in `design.sdf`. A match is the catalog compound with the same `SID` whose molblock through `M END` has the same SHA-256 as the submitted molblock through `M END`. Success establishes that the package is a filtered Drugit player design and reports its published Foldit Score. It does not establish NMR binding or a crystal structure.

## What you need to submit (Deliverables)

### Required Outputs And Format

| File | Required | Format | Max size | Purpose |
|---|---:|---|---:|---|
| design.sdf | yes | SDF V2000, one molecule | 1 MiB | Player-designed ligand with coordinates |
| methods.md | yes | UTF-8 Markdown | 100 KiB | Design note, including SID |

`design.sdf` must contain exactly one molecule, an `SID` property, a `Label` property, and a `$$$$` terminator. Hash bytes from the start of the molecule through the `M END` line, including the newline after `M END`. Ignore properties after `M END` for that molblock hash.

methods.md should name the `SID` and catalog `Label`. No particular sentence is required.

Package rules:
- archive format: none; submit regular files in one flat directory;
- do not include plaintext secrets, private keys, unrelated files, the full player catalog, puzzle zips, or directions to disregard this bounty’s requirements;
- Solver artifacts are private by default and handled through Elgora's existing private-submission protocol outside this bounty page.

## Input Files References

| File | Why it is needed | How to get it | SHA-256 content hash |
|---|---|---|---|
| compounds-passing-preliminary-filtering.sdf | Filtered Drugit catalog with SID, Score, and poses | Public HTTPS GET, no login: https://zenodo.org/api/records/14902201/files/compounds-passing-preliminary-filtering.sdf/content | `458cf3b16df4e024811f9eedc10238d3aeec31f074e197a9caa36e94b83c4e59` |
| vhl_reference_structure.pdb | Protein reference used with player poses | Public HTTPS GET, no login: https://zenodo.org/api/records/14902201/files/vhl_reference_structure.pdb/content | `310d9a3df09e6215afd0a40f35af3aee7614242e636833f59b96ce1b7a083dc6` |

### Access And Known Limitations

Retrieve both files by public HTTPS GET, with no login. Check SHA-256 of the raw bytes against this page. Split the filtered SDF on `$$$$` record boundaries. Rank using the catalog `Score` property on the matched record, not a Solver-edited copy.

The Poster selects Zenodo record 10.5281/zenodo.14902201 as the source of this historical ranking. Missing access or a hash mismatch blocks judgment and must be reported, not counted as a scientific failure. `vhl_reference_structure.pdb` is pose context only; do not dock or rescore energy.

## Acceptance Criteria

### Pass/Fail Checks

A Submission is valid only when:

- `design.sdf` and `methods.md` are present and within the size limits above;
- `design.sdf` contains exactly one molecule with a nonempty digit-string `SID`;
- exactly one catalog compound has that `SID`;
- SHA-256 of the submitted molblock through `M END` equals that catalog compound’s molblock through `M END`;
- the catalog `Score` is a finite number.

### Scoring And Calculations

The score is the matched catalog record’s `Score`, parsed as a finite decimal. Higher is better. Do not recompute Foldit or Rosetta.

### Missing, Invalid, And Conflicting Results

- SID missing from the filtered catalog: invalid. Compounds that failed preliminary filtering are ineligible.
- SID found but molblock hash mismatch: invalid.
- More than one molecule in `design.sdf`: invalid.
- Missing listed files or hash mismatch: operational blocker, not an invalid Submission.

### Evidence And Provenance

The Poster selects the listed Zenodo files as the source of this historical ranking (Scott, Foldit Players, Meiler, and Moretti). Guardians obtain the files themselves and check the hash. Link a candidate by `SID` plus molblock hash. That does not verify NMR of compound 1.

## How is the winner selected?

- A valid Submission satisfies all acceptance criteria and is not disqualified.
- If multiple Submissions are valid, the Submission with the highest catalog `Score` wins. Exact numeric ties go to the Submission whose lowercase Solver address sorts first in ascending order.
- If no Submission is valid, the outcome is `no_valid_submission`.

## Disqualification Conditions

- required artifacts are missing after successful retrieval and decryption;
- an artifact is corrupt or cannot be inspected in its required format;
- artifacts violate the package rules above or the stated Out Of Scope rules.

Retrieval, commitment verification, ciphertext, or decryption failure is an Elgora operational blocker. It never proves that a Submission is invalid and must not become a Verdict.

## Out Of Scope

New Foldit play, new synthesis, NMR, TR-FRET, and peptidic VHL ligands are out of scope. Unfiltered compounds are out of scope.

### Allowed Resources And Reuse

Published filtered player compounds may be submitted. Using a high-scoring published design is allowed.

## Guardian Verdict Instructions

Each Guardian judges only submitted artifacts, this bounty page, and the listed filtered SDF and PDB.

### Evaluation Procedure And Limits

Fetch and hash the two listed files. Open `design.sdf` and `methods.md`. Find the SID in the filtered catalog. Compare molblock SHA-256 through `M END`. Read catalog `Score` and apply the winner rule.

Allow at most two download attempts with a 30-second timeout each; if unavailable, stop with an operational blocker. Do not run Foldit. Do not inspect puzzle zips.