Merck, 798088-5ML, Fluorescent nanodiamond

General description
In fluorescent nanodiamonds, the nitrogen vacancy centers in the diamond lattice provide the fluorescence; unlike the quantum dots or organic dyes, the color centers in these don′t photobleach or photoblink. These outstanding properties of fluorescent nanodiamonds along with their biocompatibility, large surface area etc. make them promising bioimaging probes.
Product can be functionalized with carboxylic acid, hydroxyl, ketones, ethers, and/or hydrogen.
Fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) can be prepared by subjecting synthetic diamond nanocrystallites to helium ions. FND is biocompatible and its surface can be easily functionalized. It is a very useful tool in bioimaging mainly because the photons emitted from the defect centers of FND upon laser excitation can easily penetrate the tissue. The emission from FNDs is extremely stable. The average size of the FNDs is 120 nm.
Application
Potential uses of FNDs are as in vivo nanoprobe for bioimaging, cell labelling and cell tracking.