A team at Northwestern University, led by Dean Ho, has discovered that nanodiamonds can facilitate the healing of wounds.



Insulin is attracted to nanodiamonds. In addition to regulating blood sugar, insulin also has the ability to accelerate the healing process and stave off infection in wound sites. According to the article written by Dean Ho and his team, as the tiny diamond can be easily placed in a wound without instigating further damage, this is an ideal way to increase the amount of insulin in the vicinity as well.



The article states: "A substantial amount of insulin can be loaded onto the nanodiamonds, which have a high surface area. The nanodiamond-insulin clusters, by releasing insulin in alkaline wound areas, could accelerate the healing process and decrease the incidence of infection. This ability to release therapeutics from the nanodiamonds on demand represents an exciting strategy towards enhancing the specificity of wound treatment."