An Unlikely Use for Diamonds

October 28, 2014

(Phys.org) – Published in Nature Nanotechnology, researchers from Cardiff University have unveiled a new method for viewing nanodiamonds inside human living cells for purposes of biomedical research. Nanodiamonds are very small particles (a thousand times smaller than human hair) and because of their low toxicity they can be used as a carrier to transport drugs inside cells. They also show huge promise as an alternative to the organic fluorophores usually used by scientists to visualise processes inside cells and tissues.