Fluorescent Nanodiamonds for the Nanoscale Quantum Sensing of Typical Biomacromolecules: Proteins, DNA, RNA, and Lipids

Abstract The intricate interplay between biomacromolecules and biological systems underpins essential life processes, necessitating sophisticated methods for their detection and analysis. Traditional approaches often fall short due to the complex nature of biological systems and the stringent conditions required for precise nanoscale analysis. Recently, fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) with nitrogen‐vacancy centers (NV‐center) have emerged as promising tools in this field, owing to their exceptional optical properties, quantum tunability, biocompatibility, and chemical stability. These properties make FNDs ideal biomarkers and fluorescent probes capable of operating at room temperature. This review discusses the types of FNDs and their fundamental optical and quantum properties, explores their capabilities for signal acquisition in biological applications through optical microscopy, and highlights their applications in detecting, imaging, and localizing various biomacromolecules such as proteins, DNA, RNA, and lipids. Key advances that enhance the understanding of these interactions are outlined at the molecular level, including the use of FNDs in immunoassays, nucleic acid interactions, and lipid bilayers. The concluding section addresses the future prospects and challenges of using FNDs in biomacromolecule research, emphasizing the potential for expanded applications and the need for further refinement of these novel nanoscale tools.