Patent ID: 7569205

Claim:
A method of processing detonation nanodiamonds to fractionate the detonation nanodiamonds comprising, in order: providing detonation nanodiamonds, forming a combination consisting essentially of said detonation nanodiamonds and a solvent, said nanodiamonds exhibiting a positive zeta potential in said solvent, said solvent consisting essentially of DMSO making up at least approximately 10% DMSO (v/v) in the solvent with any balance of the solvent consisting essentially of a polar solvent, wherein the DMSO increases or stabilizes the magnitude of the positive zeta potential of the detonation nanodiamonds in the combination, applying a dispersive technique to said combination, subjecting said combination to a procedure that causes nanodiamond particles of a first size range to be substantially spatially separated from nanodiamonds of a second size range, and collecting said nanodiamonds of said first size range essentially free of said second size range.