Synthetic Biology and Tissue Engineering

Remarkable progress has been made in the field of nanotechnology in the past decade. Many new nanoparticles, which are defined as particles with at least one dimension between 1 and 100 nm, have been created, and new medical applications for these nanoparticles are now expected. To be able to create effective and safe nanomedicines, more information is needed about the effects and safety of nanoparticles in vivo because physical properties such as material composition, particle size, surface area, surface chemistry, surface charge, and agglomeration state all influence nanoparticle biocompatibility, particularly with regard to activation of the complement, coagulation, and immune systems. In this chapter, we introduce the most recent developments in our understanding of the biocompatibility of nanoparticles and discuss how our current understanding translates to the field of nanomedicine.