It is a science that sits at the convergence of nanotechnology and biology. However scientifically, both of this words are actually two different things that being applied in nanotechnology.
Bionanotechnology takes advantage of the unique properties of biological molecules like amphiphilic peptides by utilizing their self-assembling property for the Nano-engineering of molecular templates and supramolecular structures.
Protein folding studies provide a third important avenue of research, but one that has been largely inhibited by our inability to predict protein folding with a sufficiently high degree of accuracy. Given the myriad uses that biological systems have for proteins, though, research into understanding protein folding is of high importance and could prove fruitful for bionanotechnology in the future.
Lipid nanotechnology is another major area of research in bionanotechnology, where physico-chemical properties of lipids such as their antifouling and self-assembly is exploited to build nanodevices with applications in medicine and engineering.
Bionanotechnology
DNA nanotechnology is one important example of bionanotechnology. The utilization of the inherent properties of nucleic acids like DNA to create useful materials is a promising area of modern research.