http://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials/special_issues/diamond-age/ Dear Colleagues, The field of diamond research has been experiencing a rapid progress over the last two decades due to discoveries of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method for synthesis of polycrystalline diamond thin films and industrial process for producing ultrananocrystalline diamond powder (with 2-20 nm particle size) by detonation of explosives. It was found that besides extreme mechanical and thermophysical properties, the synthetic diamonds also possess unique chemical and photophysical properties such as ability for surface functionalization and, in the case of detonation nanodiamonds, intrinsic bright fluorescence. The chemically surface-modified nanodiamonds are expected to combine the physical properties of diamond crystals and chemical properties of organic functional groups attached to their surface. Functionalization by specific organic groups and biomolecules can improve solubility in common solvents and water, and dispersion in polymers for nanocomposite processing. The tiny detonation diamond nanoparticles are expected to penetrate even the cell nucleus as passive transport into the nucleus is limited to particles of 9 nm or less in diameter. Functionalized fluorescent diamond nanoparticles present an opportunity for cell imaging with relatively little thermal or biochemical perturbations due to the optical transparency and biologically inert nature of diamond. These and other high expectations for application in engineering and biomedical fields continue to drive the current diamond research into a “new diamond age”. Prof. Dr. Valery N. Khabashesku Guest Editor Submission All manuscripts should be submitted to materials@mdpi.com with a copy to the Guest Editor. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI. Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this Open Access journal is 800 CHF per accepted paper. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/3/1845/ The combination of nanodiamond (ND) with biomolecular mass spectrometry (MS) makes rapid, sensitive detection of biopolymers from complex biosamples feasible. Due to its chemical inertness, optical transparency and biocompatibility, the advantage of NDs in MS study is unique. Furthermore, functionalization on the surfaces of NDs expands their application in the fields of proteomics and genomics for specific requirements greatly. This review presents methods of MS analysis based on solid phase extraction and elution on NDs and different application examples including peptide, protein, DNA, glycan and others. Owing to the quick development of nanotechnology, surface chemistry, new MS methods and the intense interest in proteomics and genomics, a huge increase of their applications in biomolecular MS analysis in the near future can be predicted. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/3/1845/ Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 CET Materials 2010-03-15 3 3 Review 1845 1862 1996-1944 Application of Nanodiamonds in Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry 2010-03-15 doi: 10.3390/ma3031845 Kong Cheng http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/3/1768/ Diamond, with its exceptionally high optical nuclear potential and low absorption cross-section, is a unique material for a series of applications in VCN (very cold neutron) physics and techniques. In particular, powder of diamond nanoparticles provides the best reflector for neutrons in the complete VCN energy range. It allowed also the first observation of quasi-specular reflection of cold neutrons (CN) from disordered medium. Effective critical velocity for such a quasi-specular reflection is higher than that for the best super-mirror. Nano-diamonds survive in high radiation fluxes; therefore they could be used, under certain conditions, in the vicinity of intense neutron sources. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/3/1768/ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 CET Materials 2010-03-10 3 3 Communication 1768 1781 1996-1944 Application of Diamond Nanoparticles in Low-Energy Neutron Physics 2010-03-10 doi: 10.3390/ma3031768 Valery Nesvizhevsky Robert Cubitt Egor Lychagin Alexei Muzychka Grigory Nekhaev Guillaume Pignol Konstantin Protasov Alexander Strelkov