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Updated: Jun 8, 2025
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Synthesis of Near-Infrared Emitting Gold Nanoclusters for Biological Applications
Published on: March 22, 2020
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Electrostatic Assembly of Gold Nanoclusters in Reverse Emulsion Enabling Nanoassemblies with Tunable Structure and
Yufeng Sun1, Fei Qu1, Rui Geng1
1Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry and Materia Medica; Hubei Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials and Medical Protective Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
ACS Nano
|November 4, 2024
Summary
Researchers developed a novel reverse emulsion method for precise gold nanocluster (AuNC) assembly, enhancing near-infrared II (NIR-II) fluorescence imaging and enabling targeted lymph node visualization for cancer surgery.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Precise control over gold nanocluster (AuNC) assembly is crucial for optimizing near-infrared II (NIR-II) fluorescence imaging and targeting capabilities.
- Conventional electrostatic assembly methods struggle with electrostatic repulsions and diffusion control, limiting AuNC nanoassembly size, structure, and co-assembly options.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel method for controlled electrostatic assembly of AuNCs with diverse co-assembled molecules.
- To fine-tune the size and structure of AuNC nanoassemblies for enhanced imaging and targeting applications.
Main Methods:
- A reverse emulsion-confined electrostatic assembly technique was employed to create AuNC nanoassemblies.
- The method allowed for the formation of both core-satellite and homogeneous AuNC nanoassemblies, influenced by steric hindrances and varying diffusion rates during emulsion fusion.
- Hyaluronic acid coating was applied to modulate nanoprobes' size for enhanced lymph node imaging.
Main Results:
- The reverse emulsion method successfully produced AuNC nanoassemblies with tunable size and structure.
- Core-satellite nanoassemblies demonstrated superior NIR-II fluorescence enhancement compared to homogeneous assemblies.
- Size-modulated, hyaluronic acid-coated nanoprobes achieved enhanced lymph node imaging and macrophage targeting for surgical navigation.
Conclusions:
- The reverse emulsion-confined electrostatic assembly offers precise control over AuNC nanoassembly formation, overcoming limitations of traditional methods.
- This strategy enables the development of advanced nanoprobes with amplified NIR-II fluorescence and targeted imaging capabilities for clinical applications, such as surgical navigation.
- The self-assembly approach holds potential for broader applications in creating multicomponent functional materials.
Keywords:
NIR-II fluorescence imagingelectrostatic assemblygold nanoclusterskinetic-controlled processreverse emulsion
