• Head: Mag. Dr Doris Steinmüller-Nethl
• Grant recipient: Innsbruck Medical University
• Partners: Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Biomedical Aging Research |Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology | Mathys AG Bettlach | Otto Bock Healthcare Products GmbH | rho-BeSt coating Hartstoffbeschichtungs GmbH | Synthes GmbH | University of Uppsala, Department of Materials Chemistry

The physicist and entrepreneur Doris Steinmüller-Nethl heads the Laura Bassi Centre DiaLife. Diamond coatings for human implants as well as “living bones” are developed here, based on innovative nanotechnology.

The research project DiaLife develops synthetic, thin, nanocrystalline diamond films and diamond particles. Diamonds are originally made of carbon. In nature, it takes millions of years for the highly prized precious stones to be produced – one may refer to diamonds as “patient carbon”. DiaLife has developed a patented thermal process that makes it possible to produce tiny synthetic diamond particles within just a few hours. At a temperature of 2000°C, a mixture of methane and hydrogen etches away the graphitic components of carbon in a vacuum. The remaining diamond crystals only several nanometres in size are exceptionally pure. This way, a high-purity, extremely smooth diamond film is produced that can be used as a new industrial material for various purposes, e.g. for coating tools. In the Laura Bassi Centre DiaLife these extremely hard synthetic diamond films serve as coatings for medical titanium implants. As a result of their nanostructured surface, they integrate faster and cause less inflammation in the body. They are therefore more stable, more durable and 100% biocompatible compared to conventional implants. It is hoped that this technology will also allow the production of larger artificial parts of bones that will not be rejected by the body.

DiaLife is a consortium with eight partners made up of research centres, universities and companies. This Laura Bassi Centre has three research objectives:

• the production of diamond coatings for titanium implants
• the development of sensors to be integrated into the diamond coating; these sensors are to transmit data measuring the healing progress of the bones and the settling of the biofilm 
• the production of larger parts of bones supplied with blood, by supplying the body with biomaterials that have been modified with nanodiamonds, settled with stemcells and provided with a biomatrix by the DiaLife team; this could mean long-term help for patients with bone defects after an accident or cancer surgery

The materials developed so far are currently tested in cell cultures, animal testing and in clinical studies. Master’s and PhD theses will also contribute to push DiaLife ahead.

Doris Steinmüller-Nethl was born in Frankfurt. Together with her husband, she runs the company “-BeSt coating GmbH”, a medium-sized industrial firm located in Innsbruck, that has a basic research division. The products manufactured by -BeSt coating are based on the production of nanocrystalline diamond films. Doris Steinmüller-Nethl has won several prizes for her company’s innovation potential and has developed eight patents. One of her concerns regarding the Laura Bassi Centre headed by her is the promotion of young female researchers: “The idea is to train scientists to work independently and on their own responsibility, so that they can go on to work both in research and in industry. From a scientific point of view, DiaLife is an interdisciplinary pioneer project. It helps me expand my networks and supports my efforts in becoming a professor.”