Liu Jiao, Li Hong-Wei, Wang Wei-Xian, Wu Yuqing
State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Jilin University, No. 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, China.
J Mater Chem B. 2017 May 21;5(19):3550-3556. doi: 10.1039/c7tb00438a. Epub 2017 Apr 26.
Gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) have been widely applied in fluorescence sensing, bioimaging and phototherapy. Although great progress has been made, the relatively low quantum yield (QY, <10%) in most currently reported AuNCs limits their application greatly. In the present study, adenosine monophosphate (AMP) capped gold nanoclusters (AuNC@AMP) are prepared by using a newly developed heating method in a short time (within 60 min), and are found to show a strong and stable luminescence emission in a relative high QY (14.52%). In addition, an in-depth investigation by employing infrared, H and P NMR spectroscopy has attributed the origin of such a high luminescence to both the binding of the purine ring and/or the phosphate moiety of AMP as well as their orientations at the gold core surface. In addition, electron-rich atoms such as nitrogen and oxygen, or group moieties such as -NH in the ligands can largely promote the luminescence emission of AuNCs. The present study reveals the intriguing generation of ultrabright luminescence from metal nanoclusters, and it will stimulate more research both on the fabrication and practical applications of luminescent metal NCs. With regard to the high QY of these AuNCs, they have great potential for biological applications as adenine is crucially important in life sciences.
金纳米团簇（AuNCs）已广泛应用于荧光传感、生物成像和光疗。尽管已取得了很大进展，但目前报道的大多数AuNCs相对较低的量子产率（QY，<10%）极大地限制了它们的应用。在本研究中，通过一种新开发的加热方法在短时间内（60分钟内）制备了单磷酸腺苷（AMP）包覆的金纳米团簇（AuNC@AMP），发现其在相对较高的QY（14.52%）下表现出强烈且稳定的发光发射。此外，通过红外、氢和磷核磁共振光谱进行的深入研究表明，这种高发光的起源归因于AMP的嘌呤环和/或磷酸部分的结合及其在金核表面的取向。此外，配体中富含电子的原子如氮和氧，或基团部分如-NH，可在很大程度上促进AuNCs的发光发射。本研究揭示了金属纳米团簇产生超亮发光的有趣现象，这将激发更多关于发光金属纳米团簇的制备和实际应用的研究。鉴于这些AuNCs的高QY，由于腺嘌呤在生命科学中至关重要，它们在生物应用方面具有巨大潜力。
