A group of medics at Northwestern University have applied nanodiamond properties to a method of delivering the curative hormone insulin to wounds infected with bacteria, like severe burns or open bone fractures. Insulin acts as a growth hormone in wounds, stimulating cell production, restoring blood flow and suppressing inflammation.

The researchers, headed by Dean Ho, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, utilized the change of alkalinity that occurs in an infected wound. Its pH level can reach as high as 10.5 due to infection, as compared to the normal physiological level of 7.4. In an alkaline environment, nanodiamonds start to release insulin, which stays almost inert while bound in normal conditions.

The results of the study published in the journal Biomaterials says nanodiamond-insulin clusters introduced into wounds release the hormone at a slow and consistent rate over a period of several days. The group will now work on integrating the curative solution into gels and conducting preclinical studies.