Nanodiamonds are a wounds best friend

New research has shown that nanodiamonds can be used to deliver insulin to combat infections in serious wounds.

Northwestern University in the USA has developed an innovative method that can deliver insulin over a period of time. Nanodiamond-insulin clusters could be integrated into gels or bandages to avoid infection in wounds and even accelerate healing.

Insulin helps healing by acting as a growth hormone – it encourages skin cells to divide, restores blood flow to wounds and fights infection. Insulin can be loaded onto the high surface area nanodiamonds and is released depending on the pH of the body. At normal physiological pH level the insulin remains tightly bound to the nanodiamond but typical pH level is higher in wounds and this activates the release of insulin.

Professor Dean Ho who led the research said: “It’s a tricky problem because proteins, even small ones like insulin, bind so well to the nanodiamonds. But, in this case, the right pH level effectively triggers the release of the insulin.”

This novel drug delivery technique could be used for releasing other therapeutics, impacting a broad range of medical needs. The group have already thought about applying their technique to cancer therapy. They have demonstrated that nanodiamonds are capable of releasing the chemotherapy agent Doxorubicin in a sustained and consistent manner.

By Leila Sattary