Abstract
Fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers have been extensively studied in numerous fields because of their distinct magneto-optical properties. The NV center is a perfect candidate for a nanosensor because of its stable photoluminescence and manipulable spin state by microwave/magnetic field. Considering the controllable sizes (5–100 nm), abundant surface groups, and good biocompatibility, FNDs are valuable in biosensing to study the physiological activity at the cellular scale. This review summarizes the recent applications of FNDs in detecting physiological parameters (such as temperature, pH) as well as proteins, free radicals, viruses, etc. Highlights include the development of FND-based biosensors and the NV center transduction system that responds to signal changes or concentrations fluctuations of target species.
Disclosure statement
The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest to this work.