A Special Section on Recent Advances in Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications

A Special Issue on Recent Advances in Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications During recent decades, the development of nanostructures has gained considerable attention in a vast range of scientific fields including engineering, physics, chemistry, biology and medicine. In particular, it is worldwide recognized by scientists that nanomaterials are bound to have a strong impact on the biomedical sector, due to their potential use as diagnostics and therapeutics, which can revolutionize current medicine approaches. Investigations on nanomaterials for biomedical applications consist in the design, preparation, characterization and testing of nanostructured materials, made either of inorganic or organic components as well as of hybrid organic–inorganic materials, properly tailored and combined into single nano-objects. They represent a versatile platform for new therapeutic strategies such as drug delivery, imaging and tissue repair. Moreover, their combination with biologic(al) medical products (genes, proteins and enzymes) could open new horizons to healthcare in the coming years. This Special Issue of the Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology focuses on the recent advances in the development and application of nanomaterials for biomedicine. It aims to provide a survey of the current topics and the major development lines in this rapidly growing research area. Five Reviews open the Special Issue, giving a general overview on the recent achievements in the preparation of different types of nanoparticles and nanocomposites for the applications as diagnostics and/or therapeutics. Then, a selection of original manuscripts in the form of fourteen Full Papers and six Communications, is dedicated to the last advancement and future perspectives in the synthesis, characterization and preliminary validation of the last-generation inorganic (ordered mesoporous silica, metal oxide and amorphous nanoparticles), organic (drug based-nanocrystals, liposomes and proniosomes), and hybrid (coordination polymers and multifunctionalized nanoparticles) materials. The Editors would like to thank the authors for their excellent contributions and all Reviewers for their great efforts in assisting us during the reviewing process of the manuscripts, both contributing to the high scientific level of this Special Issue. Finally, a special thanks to the Editor-in- Chief Dr. Hari Singh Nalwa and the European Editor Dr. Davide Barreca, who gave us the opportunity to realize the Special Issue, and to the JNN staff for their technical support. We hope the readers will enjoy this Special Issue. Guest Editors Guido Ennas Alessandra Scano Chiara Sinico Francesco Lai