Department of Chemistry, Nanoscale Science Program, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA.
Physical Sciences Department, West Virginia University Institute of Technology, Beckley, WV 25801, USA.
Nanomedicine (Lond). 2023 Apr;18(9):769-782. doi: 10.2217/nnm-2023-0082. Epub 2023 Jun 22.
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are increasingly considered for biomedical applications as drug-delivery carriers, imaging probes and antibacterial agents. Silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) represent another subclass of nanoscale silver. AgNCs are a promising tool for nanomedicine due to their small size, structural homogeneity, antibacterial activity and fluorescence, which arises from their molecule-like electron configurations. The template-assisted synthesis of AgNCs relies on organic molecules that act as polydentate ligands. In particular, single-stranded nucleic acids reproducibly scaffold AgNCs to provide fluorescent, biocompatible materials that are incorporable in other formulations. This mini review outlines the design and characterization of AgNPs and DNA-templated AgNCs, discusses factors that affect their physicochemical and biological properties, and highlights applications of these materials as antibacterial agents and biosensors.
银纳米粒子（AgNPs）作为药物输送载体、成像探针和抗菌剂，越来越多地被应用于生物医学领域。银纳米团簇（AgNCs）是纳米银的另一个子类。由于其尺寸小、结构均一、具有抗菌活性和荧光性（源于其类似分子的电子结构），AgNCs 成为了纳米医学中一种很有前途的工具。AgNCs 的模板辅助合成依赖于作为多齿配体的有机分子。特别是，单链核酸可重复地支架 AgNCs，提供荧光、生物相容性材料，可纳入其他配方中。这篇迷你综述概述了 AgNPs 和 DNA 模板 AgNCs 的设计和表征，讨论了影响其物理化学和生物学性质的因素，并强调了这些材料作为抗菌剂和生物传感器的应用。
