Abstract
The characterization of nanomedicines can pursue different endpoints and different levels of complexity. Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) defines the three major areas that should be addressed in the assessment of nanomedicines before introduction into clinical trials; these are physicochemical (PCC), in vitro and in vivo characterization. This chapter looks at some major and promising nanomedicine physicochemical characterization techniques for pristine nanoparticles as well as their transformation upon initial contact with biological media. Nano particle sizing techniques can essentially be classified in, batch particle size measurements, single particle size measurements, and separation-based size measurements. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) has become probably the most commonly used technique for size determination due to its relative ease of application. Static light scattering (SLS), mostly in the form of multiangle light scattering (MALS), is a powerful sizing technique. Nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) is a relatively new technique, which is somewhat related to DLS in its operating principle.