Metallic Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

Nanotechnology has extended all aspects of our lives including biomedical and bioengineering. Because of their small size, nanoparticles attain unique physical, mechanical, and chemical properties that have been extended in manufacturing cosmetics, food, agriculture, and pharmaceutical industries. The main focus of this chapter is to provide synthesis and applications of metallic nanoparticles for biomedical applications. Due to their significant inertness, nanoscale architectures, and size compatibility with many biological substances, metallic nanoparticles have drawn interest in the biomedical field. The high surface-to-volume ratio enables the functionality of metallic nanoparticles to be suited for many biomedical applications such as therapeutics, cancer imaging, drug delivery, and other disease therapies. Noble metal (Au, Ag, Pt, Pd) nanoparticles, green synthesized noble metal nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, FeO nanoparticles, bimetallic nanoparticles, etc. are considered to be metallic nanoparticles. These nanoparticles can be considered as fluorescent sensors for biomedical applications. This chapter describes in brief the overview of the development and application of metallic nanoparticles for various biomedical applications. Finally, attention will be given to different applications of nanoparticles, their advantages and shortcomings.