Surface engineering of nanomaterials allows fine tuning of their interactions with biological systems, and thus can benefit their applications in monitoring intracellular events. Herein, the facile synthesis of ligand-functionalized gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) as intracellular probes targeting highly reactive oxygen species (hROS, such as •OH, ClO − , and ONOO − ) is demonstrated. Selected ligands such as quaternary ammonium and oligopeptides are utilized to modulate the surface chemistry of AuNCs. It is shown that AuNCs decorated with the cell-penetrating oligoarginine peptide facilitate cellular uptake and intracellular imaging of hROS in living cells and the zebrafish, with high stability and selectivity.

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