Nano-Diamonds Could Facilitate Early Cancer Detection

A new study suggests that nanoscale synthetic diamonds just 4-5 nanometers in diameter could help highlight the presence of early-stage cancers in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

Researchers at the University of Sydney (Australia) first subjected the synthetic nano-diamonds to a process called hyperpolarization, in which the atoms inside the diamond are aligned to produce a 10,000-fold boost in the signal that can be picked up by MRI scanners. To overcome inherently short spin-relaxation times (typically less than 60 seconds) the researchers hyperpolarized the nano-diamonds at cryogenic temperatures without the use of free radicals, thus extending spin-relaxation times to over one hour.

The researchers suggest that the extended hyperpolarization times achieved could expand the already established applications of nano-diamonds in the life sciences, such as an inexpensive fluorescent marker and non-cytotoxic substrate for gene and drug delivery, to also include the theranostic capabilities of nanoscale diamonds into the domain of hyperpolarized MRI. The study describing the new technique was published on October 9, 2015, in Nature Communications.

“By attaching hyperpolarized diamonds to molecules that are targeting cancer, they are able to track the movement of the molecules within the body,” said lead study author postgraduate student Ewa Rej, MSc, of the School of Physics at the University of Sydney. “This is a great example of how quantum physics research tackles real-world problems, in this case opening the way for us to image and target cancers long before they become life-threatening.”

“Diamonds have magnetic characteristics enabling them to act as beacons in MRIs. Having those chemicals target certain types of cancers, bind to certain types of receptors, is something that's advanced,” added study coauthor, Prof. David Reilly, PhD. “What we've done is now develop that lighthouse to image those things in an MRI, thereby actually see the cancers light up, without having to open somebody up.”

Nanodiamonds have comparatively huge surface areas that allow them to bond with a variety of other materials, as well as unique optical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Nano-diamonds, when loaded with attached molecules, have been shown to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) that isolates the brain from most insults.

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