Editing Cheminformatics (section)

{{Short description|Computational chemistry}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2020}}
'''Cheminformatics''' (also known as '''chemoinformatics''') refers to the use of [[physical chemistry]] theory with [[computer science|computer]] and [[information science]] techniques—so called "''[[in silico]]''" techniques—in application to a range of descriptive and prescriptive problems in the field of [[chemistry]], including in its applications to [[biochemistry|biology]] and [[molecular biology|related molecular fields]]. Such ''[[in silico]]'' techniques are used, for example, by [[pharmaceutical companies]] and in academic settings to aid and inform the process of [[drug discovery]], for instance in the design of well-defined [[combinatorial libraries]] of synthetic compounds, or to assist in [[structure-based drug design]]. The methods can also be used in chemical and allied industries, and such fields as [[environmental science]] and [[pharmacology]], where chemical processes are involved or studied.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Basic Overview of Chemoinformatics|author=Thomas Engel|journal=J. Chem. Inf. Model.|year=2006|volume=46|issue=6|pages=2267–77|doi=10.1021/ci600234z|pmid=17125169}}</ref>