<Abstract>

Use of nanodiamonds (NDs) as nontoxic nanoparticles for biological imaging, sensing,

and drug delivery is expanding rapidly. The interest in NDs is triggered by their unique

combination of optical properties. ND can accommodate nitrogen-vacancy color centers

which provide stable fluorescence without photobleaching or photoblinking and their

electronic structure is very sensitive to magnetic and electric fields. The limited options to

control ND properties during synthesis or by direct surface functionalization leave room to

be improved upon by employing surface coatings engineered precisely for a particular

application. The major disadvantages of unmodified NDs are their limited colloidal stability

and tendency to non-specifically adsorb biomolecules. This review aims to summarize recent

advances in coating NDs (namely with silica and polymer shells), which addresses these

disadvantages and enables the use of NDs in biological applications such as targeting of

specific cells, drug delivery, and biological imaging.
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