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Facile Aqueous‐Phase Synthesis of Biocompatible and Fluorescent Ag 2 S Nanoclusters for Bioimaging: Tunable Photoluminescence from Red to Near Infrared
Author(s) -
Wang Chuanxi,
Wang Yu,
Xu Lin,
Zhang Dan,
Liu Mingxia,
Li Xiangwei,
Sun Hongchen,
Lin Quan,
Yang Bai
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201200376
Subject(s) - nanoclusters , fluorescence , biomolecule , aqueous solution , luminescence , nanomaterials , materials science , biological imaging , fluorophore , biocompatible material , nanotechnology , photoluminescence , nanoparticle , reagent , aqueous two phase system , photochemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , medicine , physics , optoelectronics , quantum mechanics , biomedical engineering
Low toxicity and fluorescent nanomaterials have many advantages in biological imaging. Herein, a novel and facile aqueous‐phase approach to prepare biocompatible and fluorescent Ag 2 S nanoclusters (NCs) is designed and investigated. The resultant Ag 2 S NCs show tunable luminescence from the visible red (624 nm) to the near infrared (NIR; 724 nm) corresponding to the increasing size of the NCs. The key for preparing tunable fluorescent Ag 2 S NCs is the proper choice of capping reagent, glutathione (GSH), and the novel sulfur‐hydrazine hydrate complex as the S 2− source. As a naturally occurring and readily available tripeptide, GSH functions as an important scaffold to prevent NCs from growing large nanoparticles. Additionally, GSH is a small biomolecule with several functional groups, including carboxyl and amino groups, which suggests the resultant Ag 2 S NCs are well‐dispersed in aqueous solution. These advantages make the as‐prepared Ag 2 S NCs potentially applicable to biological labeling as well. For example, the resultant Ag 2 S NCs are used as a probe for MC3T3‐EI cellular imaging.