LGDinTECH Insights: Episode 2

Jodie: [00:00:00]
Hi, I am Jodie O’Brien and welcome to the second edition of LGDinTECH Insights. We’re a video podcast produced by LGDinTECH, a membership consortium devoted to the prime growers of technology-grade diamond material, and the researchers and tech product developers that benefit from their use. LGDinTECH is an ecosystem of lab diamond producers, post-growth service providers, tech product developers, equipment manufacturers, and research institutions.
If you’re working in aerospace, defense, high-power electronics, laser systems, medical devices, microwave, optics, photonics, quantum, or semiconductors, this podcast is [00:01:00] something that you want to listen to. Today we’re delving into one of the most fascinating uses of technology-grade diamond—nanodiamonds in biomedicine and other fields. And joining us once again is the co-founder and CEO of LGDinTECH, Liz Chatelain. Liz, thanks for joining us.

Liz:
Hey, Jodie. Thank you for that. I appreciate the intro.

Jodie:
It’s so good to see you again. I have to ask: tell us a little bit about nanodiamonds and their properties, and why they’re quickly becoming so important to biomedical technologies. This is news even today.

Liz:
It is pretty new and it’s really exploded because of the use of grown diamond. There have been nanodiamonds before, but they were very difficult to make. Natural diamond and grown diamond are much more suited and, frankly, nanodiamond is everywhere—makeup, [00:02:00] car oil—everywhere.
Grown diamond technology is a science. It’s amazing and getting used more; the real emphasis I love is that it’s saving lives. We’ll touch on that so you understand why I’m excited about the medical applications.
Nanodiamonds are extremely important to biomedical product development mainly because of their properties: nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers and biocompatibility (diamond is 100% carbon). These properties are crucial to developing [00:03:00] NMRI—nuclear magnetic resonance imaging—enabling deep imaging via quantum sensing and targeted drug delivery. Instead of bombarding the whole body, we can be pinpointed—use fewer drugs and avoid whole-body absorption.
Using MNRI contrast imaging and targeting, nanodiamond can visualize tumors and disease sites so treatments can be [00:04:00] very pinpointed. It’s exciting—and it’s saving lives.

Jodie:
It’s fascinating and world-changing. You recently interviewed one of the world’s leading scientists in the nanodiamond space, Dr. Olga Shenderova, CEO of Adamas Nanotechnologies. She had great insights into nanodiamonds in biomedical tech and quantum sensing. Let’s take a listen.

Dr. Olga Shenderova (clip):
My name is Olga Shenderova; I am CEO of Adamas Nanotechnologies. We break diamonds to nanodiamonds. Diamond has spin-state-connected luminescence—nitrogen vacancy centers—with spin-dependent luminescence. Spin states are sensitive to environment; changes cause changes in luminescence.
This yellow powder is typical abrasive—100-micron particles—yellow due to nitrogen. After electron irradiation, they become greenish as vacancies form (electrons knock out carbon atoms), then high-temperature annealing (~1000 °C) lets vacancies move to nitrogen to form NV centers with quantum properties. These particles are used in biomedical applications.
Diamond has high biocompatibility—safe in cell and in-vivo studies, with no toxicity. Another application is drug delivery. Five-nanometer particles have a huge surface area—about 400 m² per gram—so you can upload lots of drugs via electrostatic interactions, deliver to a target, then slowly release.
Another application is MRI imaging using C-13 hyperpolarization (UC Berkeley, Ashok Ajoy group). By shining light on NV centers, we hyperpolarize C-13 nuclear spins; hyperpolarized diamonds become MRI contrast agents—shine light and they become visible in MRI.

Liz: [00:10:00]
I found Dr. Shenderova inspiring. She’s been at this a long time and really saw how accessible nanodiamond could help people. I invite everyone to our website to see more of that interview. Her team at Adamas works daily on innovations. There are incubators and multimillion-dollar companies specializing in nanodiamonds and medical [00:11:00] applications.
Here are scientists at QT Sense (Netherlands) discussing their groundbreaking work using nanodiamond in biomedical disease detection with their Quantum Nova device.

Dr. Romana Schirhagi (clip):
Many major diseases—cancer, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative—result from cellular dysfunction and elevated stress. Free radicals are short-lived and low-concentration, making real-time detection hard. We developed Quantum Nova, a precision device that measures free radicals in real time inside living [00:12:00] cells.
Our quantum sensors (NV defects in nanodiamond) detect minute oxidative-stress fluctuations at the cellular level via precise T1 relaxation curves, enabling real-time, high-throughput measurements while preserving cell viability.

Dr. Deepak H. Veeregowda (clip):
Our mission is to touch more than a million patients in emergency departments and hospitals worldwide, and empower scientists in pharma and academia to better understand cancer immune response and disease progression over time.

Jodie:
That says it all—touching a million patients and improving understanding of disease progression. Liz, what other nanodiamond applications in science are already in use?

Liz: [00:14:00]
Targeted delivery of medicines is already in use. Nanodiamonds are ~5 nm with huge surface area—like tiny seeds, all surface—so clinicians can load significant quantities of drugs. They’re biocompatible (100% carbon), can be injected with low rejection/toxicity, and deliver right to the targeted area.
Here’s more from Dr. Shenderova.

Dr. Olga Shenderova (clip):
Another example in quantum sensing is FeBi Technologies (Australia), started by David Simpson, focusing on accurate detection of iron in blood. There are no accessible instruments to detect iron itself in ferritin. Inflammation can produce a lot of ferritin without iron, leading to wrong diagnosis. The company assesses iron in ferritin.

Jodie:
For listeners not from material science—what diamond properties make it so important to tech and scientific applications?

Liz:
Great question. Key inherent properties of grown diamond:
— 100% carbon (biocompatibility; low rejection when embedded).
— Wide bandgap (the best natural wide bandgap), enabling doping and diverse device behaviors.
— Outstanding electrical transport—crucial for electrification and batteries.
— Hardest known material [00:18:00]—important for space, harsh environments, and erosion prevention.
— Thermal management & thermal conductivity—vital for high-power electronics. EV battery fires start from pinpoint hotspots; diamond, as a superb heat spreader, mitigates that risk [00:19:00].

Jodie:
Not the most ideal time to bring it up, but Honeywell recently secured significant U.S. Defense Department contracts to develop quantum-sensor-based navigation systems that could replace GPS. Thoughts?

Liz:
Incredible. They didn’t start to replace GPS—just to be more accurate—and with grown diamond, it’s more accurate. Defense needs extreme accuracy; so do commercial aircraft and autonomous EVs. This could replace GPS—it’s a better alternative. It’s still in development, but we’ll monitor closely.

Jodie:
A government contract is big confirmation. We all know technology-grade grown diamonds come in different shapes and sizes from gem diamonds. If viewers want to see samples in person, how?

Liz: [00:21:00]
We have images on our website. To see, touch, and discuss with growers, meet us at SEMICON West in Phoenix, October 7–9 (Pavilion 1851). We’ll have growers, scientists, engineers, and post-growth companies—lots of brainpower to answer questions, make connections, and help everyone advance.
Why SEMICON? The semiconductor industry needs to incorporate grown diamond faster; silicon/graphite aren’t next-gen for what’s being asked of them. At SEMICON we meet designers, engineers, manufacturers across high-power electronics too—it’s perfect.
Booth number again: 1851—easy to find.

Jodie:
How does membership in the LGDinTECH consortium work?

Liz: [00:23:00]
Think of the consortium as an ecosystem where every level of diamond is represented: growers, post-growth service providers, engineers, scientists, government, investors, capital-raising organizations. The goal is to speed up the use of grown diamond to save lives (medical) and enhance safety/accuracy (e.g., EV thermal issues).
We focus on 10 industries—aerospace, defense, high-power electronics, laser, medical devices, microwave, optics, photonics, quantum sensing/devices, and semiconductors. Diamond improves [00:25:00] functionality, longevity, safety, and sustainability.
Grown diamonds require energy, but it can be sustainable (solar, hydro, etc.), and diamond lasts forever.

Jodie:
We were thrilled the premiere got over 1,200 viewers and a great response—our inbox filled with questions. Let’s challenge you with a few.

Question (viewer):
We’re successful growing for gem/jewelry but struggling to switch chambers to technology-grade diamond. What do you recommend?

Liz: [00:26:00]
We posted mechanical images and application notes on our website, and we can introduce consultants specializing in this step. Note: converting a CVD chamber to tech typically isn’t reversible to gem—different gases and augmentations are required. Many growers convert ~25% of chambers, perfect processes with users, build relationships, then scale to 50%+ as needed. Join LGDinTECH to connect directly with experienced consultants.

Jodie:
Exactly why you built the ecosystem—connect people to experts, simple or complex issues. Next question: Are technology-grade diamonds being used in satellites and rocket ships?

Liz: [00:28:00]
Yes. Harsh environments eat through everything; in space or deep ocean you can’t just “unplug and fix.” You need extreme hardness and confidence in components. Technical-grade diamonds are used in space—coatings for critical aircraft components, electrical components needing heat spreading and sinks. Weight is everything in aerospace; diamond is super hard and lighter than many alternatives.
And for sci-fi lovers—“space elevators.” Nanodiamond threads could be key components—something to watch.

Jodie:
For anyone remotely interested—join the consortium to explore possibilities. Can you tell us more about the scientists and tech experts LGDinTECH has available for consulting?

Liz: [00:31:00]
Worldwide, we have scientists and engineers who’ve worked with our grower and product-development members across our 10 focus categories (and hundreds of sub-components). We’re building our consultant network so members needing specific services, collaboration, or venture partners can be introduced to the right scientists/engineers/companies. Partnerships—direct and indirect—are crucial to the ecosystem’s success.

Jodie: [00:33:00]
Today was fascinating. Thank you for helping us learn so much about technology-grade diamond and how it’s changing the world. Thanks to our viewers and listeners for joining us. We’ll be back with the third edition of LGDinTECH Insights in about a month.