ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an overview of the research status of using porphyrin-phospholipids (PoP) for biomedical applications. The conjugation of porphyrins to phospholipid side chains could form PoPs, which can selfassemble into hybrid nanovesicles with intrinsic utility in both imaging and therapy. The book deals with a description of different kinds of combinatorial nanoparticles, followed by an overview of the biomedical applications developed for targeted imaging, cell separation and therapy. It presents an in-depth overview of the topic of engineering hybrid nanomaterial based radio-nanomedicine for biomedical applications. The book focuses on silica/gold hybrid nanoparticles for imaging and therapy and also deals with a discussion about the challenges to future clinical translation as well as potential solutions. Among various organic or inorganic nanosystems, inorganic mesoporous silica nanoparticles have attracted tremendous attention especially in various biomedical fields.
