Nanodiamonds have excellent mechanical and optical properties, high surface areas and tunable surface structures. They are also non-toxic, which makes them well suited to biomedical applications. Here we review the synthesis, structure, properties, surface chemistry and phase transformations of individual nanodiamonds and clusters of nanodiamonds. In particular we discuss the rational control of the mechanical, chemical, electronic and optical properties of nanodiamonds through surface doping, interior doping and the introduction of functional groups. These little gems have a wide range of potential applications in tribology, drug delivery, bioimaging and tissue engineering, and also as protein mimics and a filler material for nanocomposites.

The properties and applications of nanodiamonds

Nanodiamonds (NDs) are members of the diverse structural family of nanocarbons that includes many varieties based on synthesis conditions, post-synthesis processes, and modifications. First studied in detail beginning in the 1960s in Russia, NDs have now gained world-wide attention due to their inexpensive large-scale synthesis based on the detonation of carbon-containing explosives, small primary particle size (∼ 4 to 5 nm) with narrow size distribution, facile surface functionalization including bio-conjugation, as well as high biocompatibility. It is anticipated that the attractive properties of NDs will be exploited for the development of therapeutic agents for diagnostic probes, delivery vehicles, gene therapy, anti-viral and anti-bacterial treatments, tissue scaffolds, and novel medical devices such as nanorobots. Additionally, biotechnology applications have shown the prospective use of NDs for bioanalytical purposes, such as protein purification or fluorescent biolabeling. This review critically e...

Nanodiamond Particles: Properties and Perspectives for Bioapplications

Diamond nanoparticles are another form of carbon nanomaterials with unique properties and applications. This article discusses the progress made in the production, characterisation and functionalisation of this material. The surface structure of nanodiamond allows for the investigation of chemical modifications of the particle surface leading to new materials for composite, biomedical or electronic applications.

The structure and reactivity of nanoscale diamond

Antimicrobial and anticancer activities of silver nanoparticles synthesized from the root hair extract of Phoenix dactylifera.

Nanodiamonds are a class of carbon-based nanoparticles that are rapidly gaining attention, particularly for biomedical applications, i.e., as drug carriers, for bioimaging, or as implant coatings. Nanodiamonds have generally been considered biocompatible with a broad variety of eukaryotic cells. We show that, depending on their surface composition, nanodiamonds kill Gram-positive and -negative bacteria rapidly and efficiently. We investigated six different types of nanodiamonds exhibiting diverse oxygen-containing surface groups that were created using standard pretreatment methods for forming nanodiamond dispersions. Our experiments suggest that the antibacterial activity of nanodiamond is linked to the presence of partially oxidized and negatively charged surfaces, specifically those containing acid anhydride groups. Furthermore, proteins were found to control the bactericidal properties of nanodiamonds by covering these surface groups, which explains the previously reported biocompatibility of nanodiamonds. Our findings describe the discovery of an exciting property of partially oxidized nanodiamonds as a potent antibacterial agent.

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Bactericidal Activity of Partially Oxidized Nanodiamonds

A procedure for the photochemical chlorination of nanodiamond by molecular chlorine in the liquid phase was proposed. This process was studied quantitatively for the first time. Hydrolytic stability of the chlorinated nanodiamond surface in air and in a 0.05 M solution of NaOH was determined. A possibility of disintegration of the initial aggregates (<60 µm) to finer aggregates (<200 nm) was shown. The reactions of a series of C-nucleophiles (organolithium reagents, CN− ion) with the chlorinated surface were carried out.

Alexey V. Karpukhin

Papers

Photochemical chlorination of nanodiamond and interaction of its modified surface with C-nucleophiles

Effect of detonation nanodiamonds on phagocyte activity.

Halogenation of detonation-synthesised nanodiamond surfaces