combinatorial chemistry

noun

com·​bi·​na·​to·​ri·​al chemistry ˌkäm-bə-nə-ˈtōr-ē-əl-, kəm-ˌbī-nə-, -ˈtȯr- 

: a branch of applied chemistry concerned with the rapid synthesis and screening of large numbers of different but related chemical compounds generated from a mixture of known building blocks in order to recover new substances optimally suited for a specific function

using combinatorial chemistry to develop new pharmaceuticals and catalysts