The invention relates to lipid polymeric patchy particles formed by nanoprecipitation and emulsification processes, utilizing a polymer blend including the polymer, solvent and lipid-PEGylated functional groups. More particularly, the invention relates to synthesizing particles having different or pre-selected morphologies (internal and external) and physicochemical properties. It has been found that the shear stress experienced by the polymer blend during emulsification can impart certain external and internal morphology and physicochemical properties to the resulting particles. Further, the one or more patches of the particles can be functionalized, such as, with gold nanoparticles, for use of the particles, in particular, in photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging.
