Edge‑loops are the backbone of clean mesh work, so sure, the same logic could keep protein surfaces tidy. But proteins don’t come with a clean quad grid – they’re a mess of irregular vertices and tight curvature. You’ll need a lot more topology gymnastics than the usual retopo workflow, and even then you’ll end up fighting the data rather than the geometry. If you can keep the loops tight and the edges manifold, you’ll get a nicer surface to dock on, but don’t expect the same sweet, clean flow you get on a character model.