Controlled proliferation and screening of mammalian cells on a hydrogel-functionalized small molecule microarrayElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Full details of all chemical and biological experiments. See DOI: 10.1039/c5cc03278d

A hydrogel-functionalized small molecule microarray has been developed, on which PC-3 cancer cells were selectively grown. Subsequent controlled release of immobilized bioactive compounds enabled cell-based screening to be directly carried out on this platform. Controlled proliferation and selective growth of mammalian cells were achieved on a small molecule microarray functionalized by hydrogels.