An overview of the current trends in the lipid design for specific applications has been presented. Lipids with different surface charge and hydrophobic backbone undergo aggregation to produce lamellae or bilayer and multilayer vesicles in aqueous media. Various aspects of present development of chiral superstructures and enzyme-mimics have been discussed. Utility of these molecules for potential applications in immunomodulation and sustained drug-delivery systems is also summarized.

Five novel cationic lipids with fully or partiallynon-scissile linkage regions between the pseudoglyceryl backbone and the hydrocarbon chains have been synthesized. The membrane-forming properties of these new lipids are briefly presented.

Nanoparticles have properties that can be fine-tuned by their size as well as shape. Hence, there is significant current interest in preparing nano-materials of small size dispersity and to arrange them in close-packed aggregates. This manuscript describes ways of synthesising gold nanoparticles using a metal-chelator derivative1, as stabiliser. Controlled synthesis conditions lead to formation of nanoparticles thereby indicating the ability of1 to act as efficient stabiliser. The nanoparticles formed were characterised by transmission electron microscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy. TEM analysis showed the formation of dense aggregates of nanoparticles. This can be ascribed to the inter-particle hydrogen bonding possible by the carboxylic acid moiety of1 that leads to aggregation. The aggregation can be controlled by the pH of the solution employed for dispersing the particles.

This article describes recent developments in the design and implementation of various strategies towards the development of novel therapeutics using first principles from biology and chemistry. Strategies for multi-target therapeutics and network analysis with a focus on cancer and HIV are discussed. Methods for gene and siRNA delivery are presented along with challenges and opportunities for siRNA therapeutics. Advances in protein design methodology and screening are described, with a focus on their application to the design of antibody based therapeutics. Future advances in this area relevant to vaccine design are also mentioned.