Nanodiamonds Are Biotech’s New Friend

A new tiny glowing particle could provide doctors and researchers with a novel technique for biological imaging and drug delivery.  Asma Khalid, from the University of Melbourne (Australia), and colleagues have developed these new particles, tens of nanometers across, that can be injected into living cells, and because they glow when illuminated with certain kinds of light, biologists can use them to peer inside cells and untangle the molecular circuitry that governs cellular behavior, or to study how cells react to a new drug. The silk-coated diamond particles could also potentially be used someday in the clinic, by allowing doctors to send infection-fighting antibiotics to a targeted area of the body.  When the researchers tested their new hybrid material, they found that the silk remains transparent, meaning that it does not block the glow of the nanodiamonds. They also discovered that the silk not only preserves the optical properties of the nanodiamonds, but it enhances their brightness by two to four times. Finally, the new material appears to be safe for use in the body: it left no damaging effects even after spending two weeks implanted inside living tissue, suggesting that it is nontoxic and non-inflammatory.