Small molecule microarrays: the first decade and beyond

The turn of the century witnessed the development of small molecule, protein, cell and tissue microarrays, heralding a new era of discovery-driven research using a host of different chemical libraries, biomolecules and tissue types. This highlight takes stock of this first decade of small molecule microarrays (SMMs) and describes how the technology has matured into a robust screening platform. We also highlight the many interesting and unique applications appearing using small molecule microarrays, in order to project forward to possible areas in which SMMs could contribute further to over the next five to ten years.