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These Tiny Diamonds are not for Engagement Rings.
What is a Nanodiamond?
Nanodiamonds are made by detonating two explosive compounds, TNT and RDX, and then collecting the resulting soot - which contains diamonds approximately 4nm in size. But to make the diamonds fluoresce they have to be exposed to a high-energy electron beam from a van de Graaff accelerator, then heated to 800°C - a very costly procedure.
Now comes a new, cheaper process invented by Taiwanese chemists that makes nanaodiamonds fluoresce by bombarding them with high energy helium ions. This results in structural defects to the point that they fluorecse when hit by a laser light.
The practical applications are important. Nanodiamonds could be used as light beacons in chemotherapy by being attached to cancer cells and tumors in the body so that these medicines are more accurately delivered to the target zone.
Image showing the internalization of green fluorescent diamonds by a cancer cell.
Courtesy of RSC.org and Fann et al.
Carbon based nanodiamonds are water soluble, have good biocompatibility, and cause little inflammation. Research is ongoing to determine toxicity and how long these nanodiamonds will remain in the body before dissipating. Answers to these questions are necessary before full-scale clinical trials can begin.
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