Premium
Tailoring the NIR‐II Photoluminescence of Single Thiolated Au 25 Nanoclusters by Selective Binding to Proteins **
Author(s) -
Bertorelle Franck,
Wegner K. David,
Perić Bakulić Martina,
Fakhouri Hussein,
CombyZerbino Clothilde,
Sagar Amin,
Bernadó Pau,
ReschGenger Ute,
BonačićKoutecký Vlasta,
Le Guével Xavier,
Antoine Rodolphe
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.202200570
Subject(s) - nanoclusters , biomolecule , photoluminescence , nanotechnology , bovine serum albumin , nanomaterials , biocompatibility , materials science , ligand (biochemistry) , nanoparticle , chemistry , optoelectronics , biochemistry , receptor , metallurgy
Atomically precise gold nanoclusters are a fascinating class of nanomaterials that exhibit molecule‐like properties and have outstanding photoluminescence (PL). Their ultrasmall size, molecular chemistry, and biocompatibility make them extremely appealing for selective biomolecule labeling in investigations of biological mechanisms at the cellular and anatomical levels. In this work, we report a simple route to incorporate a preformed Au 25 nanocluster into a model bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein. A new approach combining small‐angle X‐ray scattering and molecular modeling provides a clear localization of a single Au 25 within the protein to a cysteine residue on the gold nanocluster surface. Attaching Au 25 to BSA strikingly modifies the PL properties with enhancement and a redshift in the second near‐infrared (NIR‐II) window. This study paves the way to conrol the design of selective sensitive probes in biomolecules through a ligand‐based strategy to enable the optical detection of biomolecules in a cellular environment by live imaging.