Possibilities of nanodiamonds application – biological and medical aspects

Abstract

This topical review briefly discusses selected highlights of research on diamond nanoparticles obtained by different methods and their potential applications in biology and medicine. In recent years nanotechnology has aroused interest of a large number of scientists who endeavor to obtain nanoparticles (which differ in size and structure of surface) using different methods, in order to determine their physical, chemical and biological properties that are in relation to the methods used in the process of their production. The knowledge developed in this way will be beneficial in an attempt to use nanoparticles more reasonably in various branches of science. The distinguishing features of carbon nanoparticles are their biocompatibility, photostability and easily chemically modified surface that results in high usefulness for intracellular studies. What is more, low toxicity of nanoparticles with many cell lines is at the center of scientific interest. This, in turn, leads to a large number of biomedical applications. The property that nanodiamonds are able to penetrate cells through endocytosis, allows delivering the drug connected with nanoparticles into cancer cells. These features of nanoparticles have given many promising leads in nanooncology, in particular in drug delivery, diagnosis, imaging, and therapy. This paper presents a summary of different classes of nanodiamond particles, the ways of their uptake into cells, an overview of the possible application of nanoparticles as nanocarriers and as a clinical theranostic platform, as well as advantages and disadvantages of using nanodiamonds in biomedicine.

Nanodiamonds for bioapplications, recent developments

“…74,75 To elucidate this, reproducible and rigorous procedures should be performed to rightly identify the best ND-based systems able to outpace the clinical standards in terms of safety and efficacy. 3,76,77 In addition, this translation will require costless manufacturing as most ND synthesis pathways are expensive. Empowering this research field could be worthy, viewing the current elaborated studies and the first clinic validation of a ND-based biomaterial.…”

Cell-particles interaction – selective uptake and transport of microdiamonds

“…They can be utilized in gene/drug delivery 10 , nanoscale magnetometry 11 , label-free imaging 12 , and as live-cell nanothermometers in biosensing 13 . Owing to the chemical inertness and large surface area of diamond particles and the possibility of surface functionalization with medical and biological agents, nanodiamonds can play a remarkable role in drug delivery 14 and microdiamonds (MDs) are also promising for medical applications 15 , 16 . However, the common issue with biological samples is that MDs need to be delivered inside cells.…”

Porphyrin–Nanodiamond Hybrid Materials—Active, Stable and Reusable Cyclohexene Oxidation Catalysts

“…This allows surface functionalization, allowing the formation of electrostatic [4][5][6] or covalent linkages, and facilitating the preparation of hybrid organic-nanodiamond materials [7,8]. This has greatly contributed to a widespread application of these organic-nanodiamond carbon materials [9][10][11][12][13][14], in biomedicine [15][16][17][18], nonlinear optical materials [19,20], energy devices [21,22] and tribology [23,24].…”