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A Galvanic Replacement Route to Prepare Strongly Fluorescent and Highly Stable Gold Nanodots for Cellular Imaging

  1. Chuanxi Wang1,
  2. Yu Wang1,
  3. Lin Xu1,
  4. Xiaodong Shi2,
  5. Xiangwei Li3,
  6. Xiaowei Xu3,
  7. Hongchen Sun3,
  8. Bai Yang1,
  9. Quan Lin1,*

Article first published online: 8 OCT 2012

DOI: 10.1002/smll.201201849

Issue

Small

Small

Volume 9, Issue 3, pages 413–420, February 11, 2013

Additional Information

How to Cite

Wang, C., Wang, Y., Xu, L., Shi, X., Li, X., Xu, X., Sun, H., Yang, B. and Lin, Q. (2013), A Galvanic Replacement Route to Prepare Strongly Fluorescent and Highly Stable Gold Nanodots for Cellular Imaging. Small, 9: 413–420. doi: 10.1002/smll.201201849

Author Information

  1. 1

    State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, PR China

  2. 2

    C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA

  3. 3

    School of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, 130041, PR China

*State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, PR China.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 1 FEB 2013
  2. Article first published online: 8 OCT 2012
  3. Manuscript Revised: 7 SEP 2012
  4. Manuscript Received: 31 JUL 2012

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Keywords:

  • gold nanodots;
  • galvanic replacement;
  • strong fluorescence;
  • cellular imaging

Abstract

Fluorescent gold nanodots (GNDs) are an important kind of nanoprobes. Herein, the application of galvanic replacement for the preparation of fluorescent GNDs is reported. Using presynthesized and size-controlled Ag nanodots (Ag NDs) as templates, the as-prepared GNDs have strong fluorescence (quantum yields ∼10%) with high stability and surface bioactivity. The resultant GNDs show excellent photoluminescence properties with high photo-, time-, metal-, and pH-stability, which are attributed to the protective surface layer of glutathione (GSH) and the presence of Au(I)–S complexes on the surface of the gold core. GSH, a naturally occurring and readily available tripeptide with carboxyl and amino functional groups, allows good dispersion of the as-prepared GNDs in aqueous solution and favorable biocompatibility. These advantages, combined with their small size, mean that the as-prepared GNDs have potential application in biological labeling, especially as a DNA probe for the specific detection of nucleic acids. In this study, the CAL-27 cells are used as a model to evaluate the fluorescence imaging of GNDs.

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