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Anjali Devi JS, Madanan Anju S, Lekha GM, Aparna RS, George S. Luminescent carbon dots versus quantum dots and gold nanoclusters as sensors. NANOSCALE HORIZONS 2024. [PMID: 39037443 DOI: 10.1039/d4nh00107a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/23/2024]
Abstract
Ultra-small nanoparticles, including quantum dots, gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) and carbon dots (CDs), have emerged as a promising class of fluorescent material because of their molecular-like properties and widespread applications in sensing and imaging. However, the fluorescence properties of ultra-small gold nanoparticles (i.e., AuNCs) and CDs are more complicated and well distinguished from conventional quantum dots or organic dye molecules. At this frontier, we highlight recent developments in the fundamental understanding of the fluorescence emission mechanism of these ultra-small nanoparticles. Moreover, this review carefully analyses the underlying principles of ultra-small nanoparticle sensors. We expect that this information on ultra-small nanoparticles will fuel research aimed at achieving precise control over their fluorescence properties and the broadening of their applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- J S Anjali Devi
- Department of Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram 695581, Kerala, India.
- School of Chemical Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarsini Hills P. O., Kottayam 686560, Kerala, India
- Department of Chemistry, Kannur University, Swami Anandatheertha Campus, Payyanur, Edat P. O. Kannur 670327, Kerala, India
| | - S Madanan Anju
- Department of Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram 695581, Kerala, India.
| | - G M Lekha
- Department of Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram 695581, Kerala, India.
| | - R S Aparna
- Department of Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram 695581, Kerala, India.
| | - Sony George
- Department of Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram 695581, Kerala, India.
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Matus MF, Häkkinen H. Rational Design of Targeted Gold Nanoclusters with High Affinity to Integrin αvβ3 for Combination Cancer Therapy. Bioconjug Chem 2024. [PMID: 39008847 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.4c00248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
The unique attributes of targeted nano-drug delivery systems (TNDDSs) over conventional cancer therapies in suppressing off-target effects make them one of the most promising options for cancer treatment. There is evidence that the density of surface-conjugated ligands is a crucial factor in achieving the desired therapeutic efficacy of TNDDSs, but this is hardly manageable in conventional nanomaterials. In this context, ligand-protected gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) are excellent candidates for developing new TNDDSs with a unique control on their surface functionalities, thus helping to achieve enhanced delivery performance. Here, we study the interactions and binding free energies between ten different functionalized Au144(SR)60 (SR = thiolate ligand) nanoclusters and integrin αvβ3 using molecular dynamics simulations and the umbrella sampling method to obtain the optimal formulations. The AuNCs were functionalized with anticancer drugs (5-fluorouracil or signaling pathways inhibitors, such as capivasertib, linifanib, tanespimycin, and taselisib) and integrin-targeting peptides (RGD4C or QS13), and we identified the optimal mixed ligand layer to enhance their binding affinity to the cancer cell receptor. The results showed that changing the proportions of the same type of ligands on the surface of AuNCs led to differences of up to 38 kcal/mol in computed binding free energies. RGD4C as the targeting peptide resulted in greater affinity for αvβ3, and in most formulations studied, a higher amount of drug than peptide was needed. Polar and charged residues, such as Ser123, Asp150, Tyr178, Arg214, and Asp251 were found to play a significant role in AuNC binding. Our simulations also revealed that Mn2+ cations are crucial for stabilizing the αvβ3-AuNC complex. These findings demonstrate the potential of carefully designing the surface composition of TNDDSs to optimize their target affinity and specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hannu Häkkinen
- Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
- Department of Chemistry, Nanoscience Center, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
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Bhunia S, Mukherjee M, Purkayastha P. Fluorescent metal nanoclusters: prospects for photoinduced electron transfer and energy harvesting. Chem Commun (Camb) 2024; 60:3370-3378. [PMID: 38444358 DOI: 10.1039/d4cc00021h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Research on noble metal nanoclusters (MNCs) (elements with filled electron d-bands) is progressing forward because of the extensive and extraordinary chemical, optical, and physical properties of these materials. Because of the ultrasmall size of the MNCs (typically within 1-3 nm), they can be applied in areas of nearly all possible scientific domains. The greatest advantage of MNCs is the tunability that can be imposed, not only on their structures, but also on their chemical, physical, and biological properties. Nowadays, MNCs are very effectively used as energy donors and acceptors under suitable conditions and hence act as energy harvesters in solar cells, semiconductors, and biomarkers. In addition, ultrafast photoinduced electron transfer (PET) can be practised using MNCs under various circumstances. Herein, we have focused on the energy harvesting phenomena of Au-, Ag-, and Cu-based MNCs and elaborated on different ways to apply them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soumyadip Bhunia
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 9190401, Israel.
| | - Manish Mukherjee
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, 251 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Pradipta Purkayastha
- Department of Chemical Sciences and Centre for Advanced Functional Materials, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, WB, India.
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Zhou C, Sun DW, Ma J, Qin A, Tang BZ, Lin XR, Cao SL. Assembly-Induced Emission of Copper Nanoclusters: Revealing the Sensing Mechanism for Detection of Volatile Basic Nitrogen in Seafood Freshness On-Site Monitoring. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:6533-6547. [PMID: 38261539 PMCID: PMC10859926 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c13321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) is a vital indicator for assessing seafood freshness and edibility. Rapid on-site detection of volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) is of significant importance for food safety monitoring. In this study, highly luminescent self-assembled copper nanoclusters (Cu NCs@p-MBA), synthesized using p-mercaptobenzoic acid (p-MBA) as the ligand, were utilized for the sensitive detection of VBNs. Under acidic conditions, Cu NCs@p-MBA formed compact and well-organized nanosheets through noncovalent interactions, accompanied by intense orange fluorescence emission (651 nm). The benzene carboxylic acid part of Cu NCs@p-MBA provided the driving force for supramolecular assembly and exhibited a strong affinity for amines, particularly low-molecular-weight amines such as ammonia (NH3) and trimethylamine (TMA). The quantitative determination of NH3 and TMA showed the detection limits as low as 0.33 and 0.81 ppm, respectively. Cu NCs@p-MBA also demonstrated good responsiveness to putrescine and histamine. Through density functional theory (DFT) calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, the precise atomic structure, assembly structure, luminescent properties, and reaction processes of Cu NCs@p-MBA were studied, revealing the sensing mechanism of Cu NCs@p-MBA for highly sensitive detection of VBNs. Based on the self-assembled Cu NCs@p-MBA nanosheets, portable fluorescent labels were developed for semiquantitative, visual, and real-time monitoring of seafood freshness. Therefore, this study exemplified the high sensitivity of self-assembly induced emission (SAIE)-type Cu NCs@p-MBA for VBNs sensing, offering an efficient solution for on-site monitoring of seafood freshness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenyue Zhou
- School
of Food Science and Engineering, South China
University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
- Academy
of Contemporary Food Engineering, South
China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Engineering
and Technological Research Centre of Guangdong Province on Intelligent
Sensing and Process Control of Cold Chain Foods, & Guangdong Province
Engineering Laboratory for Intelligent Cold Chain Logistics Equipment
for Agricultural Products, Guangzhou Higher
Education Mega Centre, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Da-Wen Sun
- School
of Food Science and Engineering, South China
University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
- Academy
of Contemporary Food Engineering, South
China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Engineering
and Technological Research Centre of Guangdong Province on Intelligent
Sensing and Process Control of Cold Chain Foods, & Guangdong Province
Engineering Laboratory for Intelligent Cold Chain Logistics Equipment
for Agricultural Products, Guangzhou Higher
Education Mega Centre, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Food
Refrigeration and Computerized Food Technology (FRCFT), Agriculture
and Food Science Centre, University College
Dublin, National University of Ireland, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Ji Ma
- School
of Food Science and Engineering, South China
University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
- Academy
of Contemporary Food Engineering, South
China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Engineering
and Technological Research Centre of Guangdong Province on Intelligent
Sensing and Process Control of Cold Chain Foods, & Guangdong Province
Engineering Laboratory for Intelligent Cold Chain Logistics Equipment
for Agricultural Products, Guangzhou Higher
Education Mega Centre, Guangzhou 510006, China
- State
Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Center for Aggregation-Induced
Emission, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Anjun Qin
- State
Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Center for Aggregation-Induced
Emission, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Ben Zhong Tang
- State
Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Center for Aggregation-Induced
Emission, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
- Shenzhen
Institute of Aggregate Science and Technology, School of Science and
Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong
Kong, Shenzhen 518172, China
| | - Xiao-Ru Lin
- Guangdong
Key Laboratory of Food Intelligent Manufacturing, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China
| | - Shi-Lin Cao
- Guangdong
Key Laboratory of Food Intelligent Manufacturing, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China
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Pyo K, Matus MF, Hulkko E, Myllyperkiö P, Malola S, Kumpulainen T, Häkkinen H, Pettersson M. Atomistic View of the Energy Transfer in a Fluorophore-Functionalized Gold Nanocluster. J Am Chem Soc 2023. [PMID: 37377151 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c02292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the dynamics of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) in fluorophore-functionalized nanomaterials is critical for developing and utilizing such materials in biomedical imaging and optical sensing applications. However, structural dynamics of noncovalently bound systems have a significant effect on the FRET properties affecting their applications in solutions. Here, we study the dynamics of the FRET in atomistic detail by disclosing the structural dynamics of the noncovalently bound azadioxotriangulenium dye (KU) and atomically precise gold nanocluster (Au25(p-MBA)18, p-MBA = para-mercaptobenzoic acid) with a combination of experimental and computational methods. Two distinct subpopulations involved in the energy transfer process between the KU dye and the Au25(p-MBA)18 nanoclusters were resolved by time-resolved fluorescence experiments. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that KU is bound to the surface of Au25(p-MBA)18 by interacting with the p-MBA ligands as a monomer and as a π-π stacked dimer where the center-to-center distance of the monomers to Au25(p-MBA)18 is separated by ∼0.2 nm, thus explaining the experimental observations. The ratio of the observed energy transfer rates was in reasonably good agreement with the well-known 1/R6 distance dependence for FRET. This work discloses the structural dynamics of the noncovalently bound nanocluster-based system in water solution, providing new insight into the dynamics and energy transfer mechanism of the fluorophore-functionalized gold nanocluster at an atomistic level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyunglim Pyo
- Nanoscience Center, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 35, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä FI-40014, Finland
| | - María Francisca Matus
- Nanoscience Center, Department of Physics, P.O. Box 35, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä FI-40014, Finland
| | - Eero Hulkko
- Nanoscience Center, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 35, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä FI-40014, Finland
- Nanoscience Center, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä FI-40014, Finland
| | - Pasi Myllyperkiö
- Nanoscience Center, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 35, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä FI-40014, Finland
| | - Sami Malola
- Nanoscience Center, Department of Physics, P.O. Box 35, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä FI-40014, Finland
| | - Tatu Kumpulainen
- Nanoscience Center, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 35, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä FI-40014, Finland
| | - Hannu Häkkinen
- Nanoscience Center, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 35, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä FI-40014, Finland
- Nanoscience Center, Department of Physics, P.O. Box 35, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä FI-40014, Finland
| | - Mika Pettersson
- Nanoscience Center, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 35, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä FI-40014, Finland
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Monti M, Brancolini G, Coccia E, Toffoli D, Fortunelli A, Corni S, Aschi M, Stener M. The Conformational Dynamics of the Ligands Determines the Electronic Circular Dichroism of the Chiral Au 38(SC 2H 4Ph) 24 Cluster. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:1941-1948. [PMID: 36787099 PMCID: PMC9940292 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Effects of the conformational dynamics of 2-PET protective ligands on the electronic circular dichroism (ECD) of the chiral Au38(SC2H4Ph)24 cluster are investigated. We adopt a computational protocol in which ECD spectra are calculated via the first principle polTDDFT approach on a series of conformations extracted from MD simulations by using Essential Dynamics (ED) analysis, and then properly weighted to predict the final spectrum. We find that the experimental spectral features are well reproduced, whereas significant discrepancies arise when the spectrum is calculated using the experimental X-ray structure. This result unambiguously demonstrates the need to account for the conformational effects in the ECD modeling of chiral nanoclusters. The present procedure proved to be able of capturing the essential conformational features of the dynamic Au38(SC2H4Ph)24 system, opening the possibility to model the ECD of soluble chiral nanoclusters in a realistic way.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Monti
- Dipartimento
di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università
di Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - G. Brancolini
- Istituto
Nanoscienze, CNR-NANO, Center S3, Via G. Campi 213/A, 41100 Modena, Italy
| | - E. Coccia
- Dipartimento
di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università
di Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - D. Toffoli
- Dipartimento
di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università
di Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - A. Fortunelli
- CNR-ICCOM, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - S. Corni
- Istituto
Nanoscienze, CNR-NANO, Center S3, Via G. Campi 213/A, 41100 Modena, Italy
- Dipartimento
di Scienze Chimiche, Università di
Padova, Via Francesco Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - M. Aschi
- Dipartimento
di Scienze Fisiche e Chimiche, Università
dell’Aquila, Via Vetoio, 67100, l’Aquila, Italy
| | - M. Stener
- Dipartimento
di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università
di Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy
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