High throughput screening of bioactive ligands for therapeutic target proteins and sensitive determination of ligand-induced protein stabilization is an important task in drug discovery and in protein structural and functional genomics studies. Polymer nanoparticles have the advantage of excellent properties such as good biocompatibility, high photostability, and facile surface functionalization, as well as possessing good biocompatibility for bioactive ligand screening and therapy. Integration of molecular biology into the design of polymer nanoparticles should be an effective way to further advance their progress in discovering bioactive ligands. Polymer nanoparticles also can serve as a versatile nanoplatform for emerging biomedical applications such as phototherapy and photodynamic therapy.

This special issue aims at assembling a set of highly innovative contributions on bioactive ligand screening and photothermal therapies based on polymer nanoparticles.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Design and synthesis of functionalized polymer nanoparticles utilizing bioactive ligands
• Screening of bioactive ligands based on functionalized polymer nanoparticles
• Separation of efficacy substances from complex products based on polymer nanomaterials
• Phototherapy and photodynamic therapy using polymer nanoparticles
• Polymeric membranes for different medical applications including filtration and dialysis