Synthesis of Organic Nanoparticles

Abstract Organic nanoparticles (NPs) are present in the nature and also they form part of many industrial products. In this chapter, we provide a general description in the fabrication of organic NPs by both “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches. In the “top-down” techniques, we will focus on methods like mechanical milling and other more complex ones involving microfluidics and lithography. In the “bottom-up” techniques, NPs are fabricated from atoms or molecules via synthetic chemistry and self-organization to generate a wide range of systems such as micelles, vesicles and liposomes, polymersomes, polymer conjugates, dendrimers, capsules, and polymeric NPs. Examples of these organic NPs are provided in the text highlighting their route of synthesis and their physicochemical properties. Most of the organic NPs involve several organic or polymeric molecules, which sometimes is a limitation to control size below certain values. Also, organic NPs like micelles or vesicles have a dynamic character and can change size and shape with time through self-assembly or fusion among them. Organic NPs can load molecules either by conjugation on the surface or in the core, or by physical encapsulation, which makes them appealing systems for the delivery of molecules and more specifically for drug delivery and biomedical applications.