Tiny diamond sensors to measure free radicals in blood
Official title: Nanodiamond Quantum Sensors for Free Radical Detection
Funded at Adamas Nanotechnologies, INC. · NIH-11194425 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Building diamond-based quantum sensors to measure reactive oxygen species (free radicals) in blood so researchers and clinicians can better understand and diagnose disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Adamas Nanotechnologies, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Raleigh, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 10, 2021 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,000,263 |
| NIH project number | 5R44TR005336-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11194425 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with conditions linked to oxidative stress (for example inflammatory diseases, cardiovascular disease, or neurodegenerative disorders) or healthy volunteers willing to provide blood samples for testing could be appropriate candidates for sample-based studies.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose health concerns are unrelated to oxidative stress and those not willing or able to provide blood samples are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this work.
What this research studies
This project is creating a new kind of sensor made from nanodiamonds that change their optical signal in the presence of nearby free radicals. The sensors use quantum properties of nitrogen-vacancy centers in the diamonds to detect reactive oxygen species with high sensitivity and speed. They are being designed to work directly in minimally processed biofluids like whole blood, avoiding lengthy sample preparation. If successful, these tools could help researchers identify disease-related changes in free radical activity and speed up development of drugs and blood-based biomarkers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could give faster, more sensitive blood-based measurements of oxidative stress that improve understanding of disease mechanisms and enable new diagnostics or drug-discovery approaches.
How similar studies have gone: Quantum nanodiamond sensors have shown promising lab-level results for sensitive detection, but applying them to routine blood testing is a novel and still-unproven step.
Where this research is happening
-
Adamas Nanotechnologies, INC.
Raleigh, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Torelli, Marco — Adamas Nanotechnologies, INC.
- Study coordinator: Torelli, Marco
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.