As a research field, nanotechnology is already spinning off numerous stand-alone
subdisciplines including bionanotechnology, nanomedicine, nanophotonics, nanoplasmonics,
and nanotoxicology. Concomitant with this, the materials, especially the
nanoparticles, utilized in these fields are steadily moving into the mainstream and
becoming known to researchers pursuing other endeavors including most particularly
the myriad areas of biological research. For example, biologists who commonly utilize
fluorescent or molecular imaging techniques have heard of quantum dots and are most
likely curious if these nanocrystalline fluorophores can further enhance their capabilities.
Alternatively, many in the pharmaceutical industry are excited by the potential
benefits offered by nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery which may help improve
drug-targeting and potentially mitigate systemic toxicity issues. Although there are
many more examples, the common thread among all the researchers is the need for a
source of methods to synthesize, characterize, biofunctionalize, and apply the nanomaterial
that is most suitable to tackle the problem at hand. They may wonder how hard
it would be to make and characterize a particular nanoparticle or attach a biomolecule to
a nanoparticle. How will they know if the materials they have prepared have the properties
they would like? This method-based focus of this book serves to fill this critical gap