Nanomaterials

The advancements in the field of nanotechnology allow the formulation of phytochemicals into a wide variety of nanomaterials. Encapsulation in nanostructures makes them more stable and less toxic, making it feasible that they arrive at a specific disease area without affecting other organs. This chapter is focused on 0D nanomaterials, which means nanomaterials with all three dimensions on the nanometric scale, with specific shapes and architectures on the nanoscale, usually termed as nanoparticles, but it comprises nanoparticles, nanorods, dendrimers, grafted polymers, nanogels, nanometric micelles, nanometric polymersomes, core-shell nanocapsules, among others. The chapter starts with a general classification and description of nanomaterials and continues with its separation due to their origin in synthetic and natural nanomaterials. The following subchapters are dedicated to the synthetic methods that allow the preparation of nanoparticles in different architectures, including polymerization strategies like conventional, grafting, crosslinking, and copolymerization; functionalization of polymers and nanomaterials; and self-assembly methods.