The applications of nanomaterials in biomedicine has seen an increasing trend in the recent years owing to unique physical and chemical properties of the nanomaterial which are remarkably different from their bulk counterparts. Tailoring at the nano-scale further allows for optimized performance in downstream applications such as in the field of medical diagnostics. The talk will focus on how by optimizing synthesis parameters, our research controls particle size, size distribution, morphology, surface chemistry and so on, which in turn affect the target applications. Our interest lies in fundamental understanding of growth mechanisms through experiments and molecular modelling to better understand the parameter space for controlling particle properties. The talk will dwell on approaches to functionalize magnetic nanoparticles such as iron oxide and plasmonic nanoparticles such as gold for specific end uses within nucleic acid extraction, protein extraction and biosensing.