image: The total structures of Au25a (a), Au25b (b) and Au25c (c). (d) Molecular structures of 2-H2mna, 6-H2mna and p-MBAH. (e) ESI-MS of Au25a dissolved in H2O/MeCN. Inset: the experimental (blue trace) and calculated (red trace) isotopic patterns of the molecular ion peak [Au25(Hmna)15]2+. The Au25 frameworks in Au25a (f), Au25b (g) and Au25c (h). Anatomy of the crystal structures in Au25a (i), Au25b (j) and Au25c (k). Color codes: Purple, Au; yellow, S; blue, N; gray, C. All hydrogen atoms, and some carbon tails of thiolate ligands are omitted for clarity.
Credit: ©Science China Press
Recently, Professor Di Sun’s group at Shandong University extended the salting-out method (commonly used to crystallize biological macromolecules proteins and DNA) to crystallize –COOH-functionalized AuNCs and obtained high-quality single crystals of three novel –COOH-functionalized Au25 nanoclusters, revealing the crystallographic structure of long-pursued –COOH-functionalized AuNCs. This study not only demonstrates a facile approach for crystallizing –COOH-functionalized AuNCs, but also breaks the traditional perception on the structure of Au25(SR)18 and paves the way for investigating the correlation between their structures and properties.
"These new exciting results may be helpful for crystallizing protein-protected AuNCs which have gained considerable attention in chemosensing or biosensing of cancer biomarkers, neurotransmitters, pathogenic microorganisms, biomolecules, pharmaceutical compounds, and immunoassays. This work will attract broad interest from the multi-disciplinary fields including chemistry, biology, and materials" Di Sun says.
See the article:
Biomimetic crystallization for long-pursued –COOH-functionalized gold nanocluster with near-infrared phosphorescence
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2023.11.014
Journal
Science Bulletin