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PHILADELPHIA, PA: They say diamonds are a girl's best friend, but it
seems diamonds—nanodiamonds,
at least—may be a scientist's best friend as well. Revolutionary
particles called nanodiamonds have a wide range of practical
uses, from improving fuel economy to coating cookware to
delivering drugs.
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Nanoblox's nanodiamonds
are valuable for a three primary reasons. One, they
are carbon-based and non-toxic, so they can be used
in drug delivery, drug diagnostics and medical imaging.
Two, the outer graphene shell is an excellent lubricant.
And three, diamonds are one of the best-known heat-transfer
materials in the world, making nanodiamonds ideal for
improving thermal conductivity.
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"Nanodiamond particles have been compared to M&Ms, where the
chocolate center is the nanodiamond, and the candy shell is a graphene
layer," says Charles Picardi, chief technology officer of Philadelphia-based NanoBlox,
which specializes in making the versatile particles.
According to Picardi, nanodiamonds are valuable for three primary reasons.
One, they are carbon-based and non-toxic, so they can be used in drug
delivery, drug diagnostics and medical imaging. Two, the outer graphene
shell is an excellent lubricant, adding slipperiness to many materials.
And three, diamonds are one of the best-known heat-transfer materials
in the world, making nanodiamonds ideal for improving thermal conductivity.
Well Worth the Price
Diamonds may not seem like the most sensible particle components because of their
price tag, but Picardi insists they are well worth it. "The nanodiamond
has very good economic utility," he says. "The value of using it far
exceeds the additional cost in many applications."
For example, the addition of nanodiamond particles could significantly increase
the thermal conductivity of a radiator in an automobile—allowing manufacturers
to reduce the size of the radiator and improve gas mileage.
"And when nanodiamonds are used in engine lubrication," Picardi
says, "they've been shown to increase fuel economy up to 20 percent." In
addition, nanodiamonds are being used in ballistics and armor defense applications,
as a replacement for chrome (a toxic material) and as a coating in cookware.
When Opportunity Knocks
NanoBlox was founded in 2003 as a result of a meeting between Picardi, co-owner
Dan Pepe and a group of Russian scientists. "Dan had a prior relationship
with the scientists, and they came over from Russia to meet with him. Dan and
I have been friends for about 13 years, and he invited me to the meeting because
I am a technical guy," Picardi says.
As part of their exchange, the group discussed developments in materials,
including a new phase of carbon that had many potential commercial applications:
the nanodiamond. "The Russians didn't have the market to sell the nanodiamonds
in their country," says Picardi. "The U.S. market, however, presented
a tremendous opportunity."
After intense negotiations, two U.S. nanodiamond patents were assigned to
NanoBlox, and the company was subsequently funded by angel investors.
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“I can’t tell you how critically important Ben Franklin’s
Nanotechnology Institute has been in facilitating our growth and development.
I cannot put a price on their help.”
—CHARLES
PICARDI, CTO, NANOBLOX
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"We are now 100 percent funded by angel investors. In 2005, we established
a wholly owned subsidiary of NanoBlox called NB Research of PA, which was located
in the South Bethlehem Keystone Innovation Zone," Picardi says.
At the same time, the company had an opportunity to partner with Drexel University
and put more than a quarter of a million dollars into the school for research
and development. Both NanoBlox and Drexel are affiliated with Ben Franklin
Technology Partners (BFTP).
The Power of Networking
NanoBlox first became associated with BFTP through a professor at Drexel, Yury
Gogotsi. Gogotsi introduced NanoBlox to Ben Franklin's Nanotechnology Institute
(NTI), which put NanoBlox in the company of organizations such as Merck and
GlaxoSmithKline.
"By joining the NTI as a founding member, I have been in contact with
the biopharmaceutical industry, and it has given NanoBlox the opportunity to
legitimize itself in the technical areas we want to pursue—I can't tell
you how critically important Ben Franklin has been in facilitating our growth
and development. I cannot put a price on their help," Picardi says.
NTI has contributed monetarily as well in the form of a $50,000 investment
that NanoBlox used to demonstrate the ability to functionalize nanodiamonds
for specific applications.
"As a result of that critically important research, we discovered that
if we could actually bind drugs and proteins to our nanodiamond particles,
we could improve the performance of chemotherapy drugs and drugs that have
potential for treating Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease," Picardi says. "So
we applied for and were awarded an additional $50,000 grant from the NTI
to develop commercial application in using our material as a drug delivery
platform, a drug imaging material and, potentially, a cholesterol reducing
drug."
NanoBlox currently has 12 employees, and they plan to create seven to 10
jobs at the doctorate level for the manufacture and refining of nanodiamond
materials and, hopefully, to grow from there.
"This is a great story about networking and about leveraging both the
brain and financial power of Ben Franklin Technology Partners to help NanoBlox
come together as a viable company," Picardi says.
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