title: Wet chemistry route to hydrophobic blue fluorescent nanodiamond.
abstract: Hydrophobic blue fluorescent nanodiamond was synthesized by covalent linking of octadecylamine to the surface of nanodiamond particles. The material is easily dispersible in hydrophobic solvents, forming a transparent colloidal solution, and can be used in those applications where stable dispersions of nanodiamond in fuels, polymers or oils are required. Bright blue fluorescence of the octadecylamine-modified nanodiamond opens up new avenues for its use as a non-toxic quantum dot analogue for biomedical imaging of cellular membranes and other hydrophobic components of biological systems. Similar surface modification can be used for other carbon nanoparticles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Vadym N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Mochalin
authors.forename: Yury
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gogotsi
mesh_terms: D000588:Amines / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D018130:Diamond / Q000737:chemistry*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000588:Amines; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D018130:Diamond; C009317:stearylamine