Gas phase nanoparticle production, manipulation and deposition is of primary importance for the synthesis of novel nanostructured systems and for the development of industrial processes based on the convergence of micro- and nanofabrication. I will present and discuss an approach, based on supersonic cluster beam, introducing cluster sources, nanoparticle particle formation and growth mechanisms and the use of aerodynamic focusing methods that are coupled with supersonic expansions to obtain high intensity cluster beams with a control on nanoparticle mass and spatial distribution. The relevance of this approach for fundamental research and applications will be highlighted
