摘要
Two fl uorescent quantum clusters of gold,namely Au25 and Au8,have been synthesized from mercaptosuccinic acid-protected gold nanoparticles of 45 nm core diameter by etching with excess glutathione.While etching at pH~3 yielded Au_(25),that at pH 7-8 yielded Au_(8).This is the fi rst report of the synthesis of two quantum clusters starting from a single precursor.This simple method makes it possible to synthesize well-defined clusters in gram quantities.Since these clusters are highly fl uorescent and are highly biocompatible due to their low metallic content,they can be used for diagnostic applications.
基金
Acknowledgments We thank Department of Science and Technology,Government of India for constantly supporting our research program on nanomaterials.