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A recent article in Time Magazine focuses on these applications of diamond materials, and cites the work being carried out in Professor Heidi Martin’s lab. Prof. Martin and her team develop implantable medical devices based on diamond films that can be used as robust sensors and stimulators in the human brain. Diamond electrodes have potential as biosensors for electrochemical detection of neurotransmitters—the chemical messengers between neurons within the brain and nervous system. Neurotransmitters play a critical role in healthy brain function; abnormal increases or decreases in neurotransmitter levels have been linked to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases, as well as schizophrenia and drug addiction. Diamond provides a unique opportunity to integrate stimulation and sensing in the same implantable device. If implanted diamond electrodes can be used to continuously monitor and manipulate the concentration of neurochemicals in real time, doctors might better understand the processes that regulate communication between neurons. For example, such an electrode could help guide treatment in Parkinson’s patients, by allowing doctors to measure the levels of dopamine, a deficiency of which is found in people with Parkinson’s, or to control patients’ random movements with deep-brain stimulation. In collaboration with Professor Christopher Wilson, in the Department of Pediatrics at the Case School of Medicine, Martin’s research team has developed diamond micro-disk electrodes that are implanted into the group of nerve cells in the brain that control the frequency of breathing, known as PreBötzinger Complex. This makes it possible to explore the role of adenosine, a compound released by the brain that modulates neural activity, in modulating respiratory rhythm. Because this compound’s activity is linked to insomnia, apnea, and other sleep problems, the diamond electrode’s capability to detect adenosine will assist in the development of more effective medicines to regulate it. Full article: Alice Parks, “Diamond De Novo" (Time Magazine, February 12 2007, pp. G1-G4)
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The word “diamond” inevitably brings to mind the coveted jewel that is the mainstay of the engagement ring industry. Yet, as beautiful as a polished diamond is to look at, it also possesses physical and chemical properties that make it an ideal workhorse material for everything from semiconductors to biosensors.