Pharmacophore mapping and screening involves generating pharmacophore models to identify potential drug candidates. A pharmacophore represents the molecular features responsible for a drug's biological activity, including hydrophobic groups, charged groups, and hydrogen bond donors or acceptors. Pharmacophore mapping can be done through ligand-based or structure-based approaches. Ligand-based mapping uses a set of known active ligands to derive a pharmacophore model, while structure-based mapping docks candidate ligands into a protein target. Pharmacophore mapping software like Discovery Studio and Ligand Scout are used to generate pharmacophore models and screen compound libraries to discover new drug candidates in a more efficient manner than traditional drug development methods.