BIND Biosciences generates nanoparticles with unique targeting agents that allow them to home in on cancerous cells with deadly precision. Because it's impossible to mathematically design the optimal particle, BIND scientists have created large combinatorial libraries of nanoparticles with different biophysical and chemical properties.

Tempo Pharmaceuticals produces nano-sized therapeutics designed to deliver a one-two punch: the targeted and sequential release of two drugs at a specific location in the body. Though the technology offers an improved way to deliver drugs, especially highly toxic chemotherapeutics to treat cancer, the company shies away from the drug delivery label. The company says its technology isn't just about getting drug into a tumor; it's about getting the right drug to the right location at the right time to address the microenvironment of the disease.

Liquidia Technologies is developing nanoparticles whose size, shape, particle cargo, and target specificity can be exquisitely controlled. In order to create its particles, Liquidia borrows fabrication methods originally developed by the electronics industry. I