ABSTRACT
Based on substantial progress made in material science at the nanoscale level during the last three decades of the 20th century, the National Institute of Health launched in 2000 a federal government program aimed at supporting, coordinating and advancing research and development of nanoscale projects. Nanoscience terminology was swiftly and largely uncritically adapted by pharmaceutical scientists leading to the advent of so-called nanopharmaceuticals. This chapter presents a list of approved drugs commonly referred as "nanopharmaceuticals" and provides some basic facts on the term "nano." It discusses a few nanoscale properties, intended mainly for pharmaceutical scientists and pharmacy graduate students. These properties include the band theory, quantum confinement, localized surface plasmon resonance, and surface area-to-volume ratio and surface energy at nanoscales. Other properties such as melting point depression of solid materials at the nanoscale, Brownian Motion, and superparamagnetism are also discussed.
