محبوبه شیرانی

Nanodiamonds (NDs) are a significant family of carbon-based materials distinguished by their high surface area, tunable surface chemistry, biocompatibility, and mechanical stability. These features make them attractive candidates for diverse analytical applications. This review offers a new perspective by focusing on NDs as emerging sorbent materials for analytical sample preparation, particularly for trace and ultra-trace detection of pollutants—such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, dyes, heavy metals, and endocrine-disrupting compounds—in environmental, food, and biological matrices—rather than their traditional biomedical or catalytic roles. The paper provides a critical comparison of NDs with other carbonbased sorbents such as carbon nanotubes (CNT), graphene, fullerenes, and activated carbon (AC), emphasizing how sp³- hybridized frameworks and dense surface functionalities enhance selective adsorption and chemical robustness. It further summarizes recent progress in ND synthesis, surface functionalization, and composite formation that improve extraction efficiency and selectivity. Finally, the review highlights key future directions, including the development of sustainable and cost-effective ND synthesis routes, in situ surface functionalization strategies, hybrid magnetic and polymer-based composites for easier recovery and reusability, and the integration of ND-based sorbents into automated and miniaturized extraction platforms for high-throughput analytical workflows.