# Nanodiamond Quantum Sensors for Free Radical Detection

> **NIH NIH R44** · ADAMAS NANOTECHNOLOGIES, INC. · 2024 · $1,034,967

## Abstract

Summary
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have a ubiquitous impact on human health. ROS are directly involved in
maintenance of homoeostasis and implicated in disease when misregulated. Currently there is a gap in
technologies capable of characterizing and quantifying these important analytes in physiologically relevant
conditions (e.g., whole blood). This Phase II SBIR continues development of a quantum sensing technology to
perform accurate and accessible kinetic measurements of ROS in minimally processed biofluids. Once
developed, the new technology will improve the understanding the roles these species play in disease
pathogenesis. It is also expected to enable new modalities for drug and biomarker discovery which could
potentially aid in clinical diagnostics. The translational capability of quantum sensors lies in equipping biomedical
researchers and clinicians with new measurement tools offering improved sensitivity, resolution, and speed
compared to classical sensors. The proposed new family of robust quantum sensors is based on nitrogen-
vacancy (NV) centers fabricated in nanodiamonds (NDs). NDNV sensors possess unique magneto-optical
quantum properties, where the optical output of the NV depends on its spin state, while the spin state, in turn, is
highly sensitive to paramagnetic species/free radicals present nearby. The value of the proposed technology is
that the measurements may be reproducibly performed in a media with a high background fluorescence, like
whole blood. To achieve this goal, this Phase II SBIR aims at developing a prototype instrument which will be
further commercialized in Phase III of this project. We will also continue development of the ND-NV sensor and
validation of its performance with measurements in translationally relevant whole blood samples. Our team has
complementary expertise in ND processing and commercialization and instrumentation prototyping (Adámas),
development of cutting-edge detection/validation schemes in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and
chemical synthesis (NCSU), and clinical research (Duke Medical Center). The outcome of this project will be a
sensor with the capability to perform measurements of ROS in whole blood with minimal processing. We
anticipate that the greatly reduced assay time and preserved sample integrity will increase the reliability of ROS
measurement in basic biomedical research and clinical diagnostics. We aim to provide the full technology
solution to end users including an instrument and consumable reagents for conducting Quantum Sensing ROS
assays.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11007965
- **Project number:** 9R44TR005336-02
- **Recipient organization:** ADAMAS NANOTECHNOLOGIES, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Marco Torelli
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,034,967
- **Award type:** 9
- **Project period:** 2021-09-10 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11007965

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11007965, Nanodiamond Quantum Sensors for Free Radical Detection (9R44TR005336-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11007965. Licensed CC0.

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