Recent applications of nanodiamond quantum biosensors: A review

The ultrafine biosensing technology reveals the mechanisms of various biochemical reactions in cells and the causes of complex diseases through the detection of cellular and subcellular structures. It has an irreplaceable role in the early diagnosis of diseases and in the evaluation of the effectiveness of drug therapy. Due to the complex media composition and ultrafine size of biological cells, traditional sensing technologies can hardly shoulder this difficult task. Nanodiamond (ND) is chemically inert, biocompatible, and nanoscale in size; therefore, it is a safe, non-invasive tool for intracellular sensing. In this Review, we will present the properties of nitrogen vacancy centers, silicon vacancy centers in ND, functionalization of ND, and brief principles of sensing, as well as the latest applications, opportunities, and challenges of ND biosensing.