Exploration of Drug Science

Table 1

Peptides compared to small molecules and large molecules (enzymes, antibodies, microbiome-based biologics)

Molecular size	Advantages	Disadvantages
Small molecules (0.1–1 kDa)	Accessible synthesis (production costs and easy to synthesize) Good cell membrane permeability Oral administration	Lack of diversity Side effects Bad affinity for PPI surface Low specificity
Peptides	Good safety High target selectivity and specificity Non-toxic metabolites Good affinity for PPI surface Low immunogenicity	Low cell membrane permeability Low plasma stability Short half-life
Large molecules	Extended PPI binding Great selectivity	High costs Onco- & immunogenicity

Molecular size

Advantages

Disadvantages

Small molecules (0.1–1 kDa)

Peptides

Large molecules