The search for novel, biologically active materials is a major goal of many of the biotechnology based industrial companies. These include pharmaceutical, agrochemical and food companies seeking new drugs, pesticides, flavours and aromas. In the past, the process of identifying new compounds has been based on low throughput biological screening of compounds developed and synthesised by organic chemists using traditional procedures.

Although many valuable products have resulted from this approach, recent developments in information technology, mathematical algorithms and robotics appear to offer alternative approaches which may eventually prove to be more cost-effective. This book describes the impact that these new design procedures are having on the discovery process.