Small molecule bioanalysis can be defined as the chemical analysis of compounds within a biological matrix. Small molecules are traditional pharmaceutical, typically they have a low molecular weight of less than 900 Daltons and regulate a biological process. As a drug moves through the drug development process, a variety of preclinical and clinical studies take place in which the drug would need to be analyzed within a biological matrix, usually serum or plasma. Common small molecule bioanalytical studies are: pharmacokinetic (PK) studies, pharmacodynamics (PD) studies and biomarker assays. To learn more about these types of studies, please see the following pages: