We have developed a new one phase synthesis to grow a set of highly fluorescent and multifunctional gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) using reduction of gold precursors in the presence of a series of multi-coordinating ligands made of lipoic acid-appended with either short poly(ethylene glycol) or zwitterion groups. The resulting NCs have a homogenous size, exhibit strong red fluorescence at ~ 750 nm with a quantum yield of ~ 12-14 %, and long excitation lifetime of ~ 300 ns. These clusters exhibit remarkable colloidal stability over a broad range of biological conditions.  Furthermore, our strategy allowed the in-situ control over the number and type of reactive groups (e.g., COOH, amine, or azide) per NC, making them compatibles with common biochemical conjugations. We will describe the synthetic method along with the optical and structural characterization of these clusters, and discuss their integration in biological hybrids, such as imaging and energy transfer processes.

One phase growth of highly fluorescent PEGylated and zwitterion functionalized gold nanoclusters

245th National Meeting (2013)

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