Facile synthesis of fluorescent gold nanoclusters and their application in cellular imaging

Li Shang, René M. Dörlich, Stefan Brandholt, Naghmeh Azadfar, Gerd Ulrich Nienhaus

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fluorescent metal nanoclusters (NCs) have many attractive features, including ultrasmall size, good biocompatibility and large Stokes shift, thus making them promising alternatives as fluorescent markers for biological applications. We have developed a facile method of synthesizing water-soluble, near-infrared (NIR) luminescent AuNCs. By virtue of the long fluorescence lifetime of these AuNCs, we explored their application in cellular fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM). Furthermore, the interaction of AuNCs with biomolecules such as proteins has been investigated. Upon protein association, the fluorescence of AuNCs was found to be enhanced and their luminescence lifetime was prolonged. Our studies underline the importance of studying the behavior of AuNCs within the complex biological environment for their application as novel cellular imaging probes.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationColloidal Nanocrystals for Biomedical Applications VII
DOIs
StatePublished - 2012
Externally publishedYes
EventColloidal Nanocrystals for Biomedical Applications VII - San Francisco, CA, United States
Duration: 21 Jan 201222 Jan 2012

Publication series

NameProgress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging - Proceedings of SPIE
Volume8232
ISSN (Print)1605-7422

Conference

ConferenceColloidal Nanocrystals for Biomedical Applications VII
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Francisco, CA
Period21/01/1222/01/12

Keywords

  • Biolabels
  • Cellular imaging
  • Fluorescence probes
  • Gold nanoclusters

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