The Northwestern University study is said to be the first to demonstrate the use of nanodiamonds -- a new class of nanomaterials -- in biomedicine. In addition to delivering cancer drugs, researchers said the model could be used for other applications, such as fighting tuberculosis or viral infections.

Materials currently used for drug delivery can cause inflammation, a serious complication that can predispose a patient to cancer, block the activity of cancer drugs and promote tumor growth.

"There are a lot of materials that can deliver drugs well but we need to look at what happens after drug delivery," said Northwestern Assistant Professor Dean Ho, who led the study. "How do cells react to an artificial material left in the body? Nanodiamonds are highly ordered structures, which cells like. If they didn't, cells would become inflamed. From a patient's perspective, this is very important."

The research is published online in the journal Nano Letters,