The possibilities proposed for materials whose size is in the nanometer range has led to an explosion in both interest and research in the field of nanoparticle synthesis and their subsequent assembly, primarily with the aim to facilitate their incorporation into device architectures. This has resulted in a range of synthetic techniques as well as deposition and assembly strategies being applied, in order to achieve structures which may prove to be viable in the market place. An overview of a range of materials and the synthetic routes by which they may be accomplished and the schemes by which both size and shape control may be implemented will be presented. A number of relevant characterisation techniques and their limitations will be presented and a number of possible applications and the routes to their implementation will be introduced.