Lightly Boron-Doped Nanodiamonds for Quantum Sensing Applications

Unlike standard nanodiamonds (NDs), boron-doped nanodiamonds (BNDs) have shown great potential in heating a local environment, such as tumor cells, when excited with NIR lasers (808 nm). This advantage makes BNDs of special interest for hyperthermia and thermoablation therapy. In this study, we demonstrate that the negatively charged color center (NV) in lightly boron-doped nanodiamonds (BNDs) can optically sense small temperature changes when heated with an 800 nm laser even though the correct charge state of the NV is not expected to be as stable in a boron-doped diamond. The reported BNDs can sense temperature changes over the biological temperature range with a sensitivity reaching 250 mK/root Hz. These results suggest that BNDs are promising dual-function bio-probes in hyperthermia or thermoablation therapy as well as other quantum sensing applications, including magnetic sensing.

Automated summary

Unlike standard nanodiamonds, boron-doped nanodiamonds (BNDs) have the potential to heat a specific area, such as tumor cells, when excited with NIR lasers. In this study, it is demonstrated that the negatively charged color center (NV) in lightly boron-doped nanodiamonds can optically sense small temperature changes, even though the charge state of the NV is not expected to be stable in a boron-doped diamond. These findings suggest that BNDs can be used as dual-function bio-probes in hyperthermia or thermoablation therapy, as well as other quantum sensing applications.