Synthesis, Properties and Applications of Polymeric Nanomaterials

Polymeric nanomaterials is a common term used for all polymer-based nanomaterials but it is mainly applied to nanospheres and nanocapsules. Generally defined as colloidal systems, polymeric nanoparticles have attracted considerable interest all over the world due to their unique properties and their extensive applications in various fields such as drug delivery systems, biosensors, catalysts, nanocomposites, agriculture, environment, etc. They are obtained both from synthetic polymers or natural polymers and based on their in vivo behavior, they can be classified as biodegradable or non-biodegradable. They are used to encapsulate a wide variety of compounds, ranging from hydrophobic drugs, water-insoluble chemicals, metals, nutraceutics, bioactive compounds, proteins, and nucleic acids to change their physicochemical properties and their mechanism of interaction with living cells.