According to the type and structure of the carriers, nanomedicines are primarily classified into liposome, antibody–drug conjugate, inorganic nanoparticle, polymer nanoparticle, dendrimer, micelle, polymer–drug conjugate, virus-derived vector, nanocrystal, cell-derived carrier and protein-bound nanoparticle.

The most prevalent categories of nanomedicines available in the market or in different phases of clinical trials include liposomes or lipid-based nanoparticles (33%), antibody–drug conjugates (15%), polymer-drug/protein conjugates (10%), and polymeric nanoparticles (10%).

Nanomedicine is the most promising use of nanorobotics. Its applications cover several fields, such as the creation of vaccines, medication delivery, wearable equipment, diagnostic and imaging equipment, and antimicrobial products.

In in-vitro diagnostics, nanomedicine could increase the efficiency and reliability of the diagnostics using human fluids or tissues samples by using selective nanodevices, to make multiple analyses at subcellular scale, etc.

Nanoliposomes present a greater surface area and have acceptable stability profile to preserve their size within nanometric scales, e.g., as small as 20–100 nm (small liposomes) and >100 nm (large liposomes). These carriers are mainly composed of lipids and phospholipids.

Liposomes protect the loaded drug molecules from external degradation, and their similarity to biological membranes provides unique opportunities to deliver drug molecules into the cells or their sub-cellular compartments.

They have been used in the manufacture of filters that refine crude oil into diesel fuel. Nanocrystals can also be layered and applied to flexible substrates to produce solar panels.

With typical dimensions in the range of 1-100 nm, these nanocrystals bridge the gap between small molecules and large crystals, displaying discrete electronic transitions reminiscent of isolated atoms and molecules, as well as enabling the exploitation of the useful properties of crystalline materials.