Properties and applications of protein-stabilized fluorescent gold nanoclusters: short review

Research is turning toward nanotechnology for solutions to current limitations in biomedical imaging and analytical detection applications. New to fluorescent nanomaterials that could help advance such applications are protein-stabilized gold nanoclusters. They are potential candidates for imaging agents and sensitive fluorescence sensors because of their biocompatibility and intense photoluminescence. This review discusses the strategy for synthesizing fluorescent protein-gold nanoclusters and the characterization methods employed to study these systems. Optical properties and relevant light-emitting applications are reported to present the versatility of protein-gold nanoclusters. These new bio-nano hybrids are an exciting new system that remains to be explored in many aspects, especially regarding the determination of gold nanocluster local structure and the enhancement of quantum yields. Understanding how to finely tune the optical properties will be pivotal for improving fluorescence imaging and other nanocluster applications. There is a promising future for fluorescent protein-gold nanoclusters as long as research continues to uncover fundamental structure-property relationships. © 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI: 10.1117/1.JNP.6