Ultrasmall Au and Ag Nanoclusters for Biomedical Applications: A Review

Jia Tang; Haihong Shi; Guanyu Ma; Liangping Luo; Zhenghua Tang

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2020.01019

Ultrasmall Au and Ag Nanoclusters for Biomedical Applications: A Review

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2020 Oct 8:8:1019. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.01019. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Jia Tang¹, Haihong Shi¹, Guanyu Ma², Liangping Luo³, Zhenghua Tang^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Medical Genetics Center, Jiangmen Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Jiangmen, China.
² Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Surface Chemistry of Energy Materials, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre, School of Environment and Energy, New Energy Research Institute, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
³ Department of Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center for Surface Chemistry of Energy Materials, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Noble metal (e.g., Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, and their alloys) nanoclusters (NCs) have emerged as a new type of functional nanomaterial in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Owing to their unique properties, such as their ultrasmall dimension, enhanced photoluminescence, low toxicity, and excellent biocompatibility, noble metal NCs-especially Au and Ag NCs-have found various applications in biomedical regimes. This review summarizes the recent advances made in employing ultrasmall Au and Ag NCs for biomedical applications, with particular emphasis on bioimaging and biosensing, anti-microbial applications, and tumor targeting and cancer treatment. Challenges, including the shared and specific challenges for Au and Ag NC toward biomedical applications, and future directions are briefly discussed at the end.

Keywords: anti-microbial applications; bioimaging and biosensing; biomedical applications; tumor targeting and cancer treatment; ultrasmall Au and Ag nanoclusters.

Publication types

Review