Crown Ether-Capped Gold Nanoclusters as a Multimodal Platform for Bioimaging.

ABSTRACT: The distinct polarity of biomolecule surfaces plays a pivotal role in their biochemistry and functions as it is involved in numerous processes, such as folding, aggregation, or denaturation. Therefore, there is a need to image both hydrophilic and hydrophobic bio-interfaces with markers of distinct responses to hydrophobic and hydrophilic environments. In this work, we present a synthesis, characterization, and application of ultrasmall gold nanoclusters capped with a 12-crown-4 ligand. The nanoclusters present an amphiphilic character and can be successfully transferred between aqueous and organic solvents and have their physicochemical integrity retained. They can serve as probes for multimodal bioimaging with light (as they emit near-infrared luminescence) and electron microscopy (due t

SUBMITTER: Obstarczyk P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10061685 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature