A diamond nanoparticle encased in the engineered silica shell. John Zich/UChicago
What do luxury diamonds, quantum physics, and your flat-screen QLED TV have in common? Well, if you combine their characteristics, you could have quantum sensors that could fit inside your cell and detect diseases like diabetes, cancer, etc., at their earliest stages.
This isn’t some far-fetched idea, but the latest achievement from researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Iowa.
Using a special shell, which is also used in QLED screens, they transformed ordinary diamond nanoparticles into advanced quantum sensors that can work inside living cells. This innovation could revolutionize how we monitor cellular health and detect diseases early.
“This work provides a foundational advancement in nanoscale quantum sensing, with implications for precision diagnostics, cellular imaging, and other bioengineering applications,” the researcher noted in their study.
The performance issue with nanodiamonds
Scientists have long known that special defects in diamonds, called nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, can act like tiny quantum sensors. These NV centers are very sensitive to changes in magnetic fields, temperature, and electric signals, making them perfect for detecting what’s happening inside living cells or deep within materials.
However, there was a problem. To get diamonds inside a cell, they have to be made incredibly small—nanodiamonds, less than 100 nanometers wide. At this tiny scale, the NV centers stop working well. Their quantum signals fade, and they no longer behave like the precise sensors scientists need.
For years, researchers have tried different ways to fix this problem. They tried cleaning the diamond surfaces, changing the shapes, and even tweaking the crystal structure. However, no matter what they did, the quantum performance of nanodiamonds remained disappointingly poor.
“People have used diamond nanocrystals as biosensors before, but they discovered that they perform worse than what we would expect. Significantly worse,” Uri Zvi, lead researcher and a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago. This is where the new study can make a huge difference.
Creating diamond quantum sensors for the living
The researchers took inspiration from a completely different field, consumer electronics. They noticed that in QLED TVs, tiny light-emitting particles called quantum dots are coated with special shells to stop them from breaking down and losing brightness. These shells stabilize the quantum dots and keep their performance consistent.
The team decided to try a similar strategy for quantum diamond sensors. They developed a unique core-shell structure, where the diamond nanoparticle forms the core and is coated with silica, a material that is chemically stable, biologically safe, and easy to work with.
This silica shell acted as insulation, shielding the NV centers from surface damage and environmental noise. The researchers carefully adjusted the shell’s thickness and how it chemically bonded to the diamond’s surface. These steps helped preserve the diamonds’ quantum properties.
The final result was more than impressive. The coated nanodiamonds showed a 1.8-fold increase in signal strength compared to uncoated ones. More importantly, they retained their ability to emit stable quantum signals even after being introduced into living cells.
Under the microscope, the scientists could still read clean quantum signals from inside the cellular environment, a major achievement that was previously out of reach. “The end impact is not just a better sensor, but a new, quantitative framework for engineering coherence and charge stability in quantum nanomaterials,” Zvi said.
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The study is published in the journal PNAS.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rupendra Brahambhatt Rupendra Brahambhatt is an experienced writer, researcher, journalist, and filmmaker. With a B.Sc (Hons.) in Science and PGJMC in Mass Communications, he has been actively working with some of the most innovative brands, news agencies, digital magazines, documentary filmmakers, and nonprofits from different parts of the globe. As an author, he works with a vision to bring forward the right information and encourage a constructive mindset among the masses.
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