Great advancement in the synthesis of ultrasmall gold nanoclusters (AuNC) has resulted in the wide application of these materials in various fields including catalysis, nanoelectronics and nanomedicine. Several passivating ligands of AuNC have been successfully employed, including phosphines, thiolates, and more recently <i>N</i>-heterocyclic carbenes. Of these, the meta-stable phosphine-capped AuNC (PGC) have shown the most interesting biological activities as antitumor and antibacterial agents, mirroring the activity of their corresponding gold (I) complexes. The reduced stability of PGCs presents a challenge in synthesis and characterization, requiring controlled reaction and purification conditions particularly in aqueous media. In this work, we present several synthetic strategies of PGCs capped with aliphatic and aromatic water-soluble functional groups and demonstrate their application as biologically active compounds.

Synthesis and characterization of water-soluble phosphine gold nanoclusters

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.