Despite the great advances made in the last several years, the application of NMR microscopy and spectroscopy to the study of biological and chemical systems is still limited by inadequate signal-to-noise ratios and long acquisition times. The use of miniaturized NMR microcoils combined with novel probe designs and acquisition schemes enable us to study very small volume samples. I will describe different strategies we employ in trying to improve the sensitivity of the technique and I will talk about various applications.