Design and mechanistic study of a novel gold nanocluster-based drug delivery system

Abstract

Chemically-triggered drug delivery systems (DDSs) have been extensively studied as they do not require specialized equipment to deliver the drug and can deeply penetrate human tissue. However, their syntheses are complicated and they tend to be cytotoxic, which restricts their clinical utility. In this work, the self-regulated drug loading and release capabilities of peptide-protected gold nanoclusters (Pep-Au NCs) are investigated using vancomycin (Van) as the model drug. Gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) coated with a custom-designed pentapeptide are synthesized as drug delivery nanocarriers and loaded with Van - a spontaneous process reliant on the specific binding between Van and the custom-designed peptide. The Van-loaded Au NCs show comparable antimicrobial activity with Van on its own, and the number of Van released by the Pep-Au NCs is found to be proportional to the amount of bacteria present. The controlled nature of the Van release is very encouraging, and predominantly due to the stronger binding affinity of Van with bacteria than that with Au NCs. In addition, these fluorescent Au NCs could also be used to construct temperature sensors, which enable the in vitro and in vivo bioimaging.

Tailoring the stability, photocatalysis and photoluminescence properties of Au11 nanoclusters via doping engineering

“…Its precise crystal frameworks were determined fully by single crystal X-ray crystallography. We found the surface gold (7) and silver (3) atoms to be bound selectively with the seven phosphine and three chlorine ligands, respectively. The three AgCl motifs located in the C 3 axis in the Au 8 Ag 3 alloy nanoclusters.…”

“…[1][2][3] These gold nanoclusters are usually protected by thiolate, phosphine and alkyne ligands, which are exploited widely in the areas of photosensitizers, electronics, biomedicine, and catalysis. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] These nanoclusters exhibit a nonmetallic nature due to electron energy quantization arising from a quantum size effect, which exerts a strong inuence on their physical and chemical properties. With regard to phosphine-stabilized gold nanoclusters, Au 11 (PPh 3 ) 7/8 X 3/2 (X ¼ SCN, Cl, or Br) nanoclusters are the most well-known and investigated nanoclusters, which were discovered in the 1980s.…”

The Ligand‐Exchange Reactions of Rod‐Like Au25‐nMn (M=Au, Ag, Cu, Pd, Pt) Nanoclusters with Cysteine – A Density Functional Theory Study

“…By contrast, the precise atomic structure of water‐soluble nanoclusters, in which the metal core is protected by water‐soluble ligands (such as amino acids, peptides, DNA, etc . ), have not been reported. Despite the lack of atomic precision, the formula (or main component) of several water‐soluble nanoclusters have been reported in recent years.…”

Probing Viscosity of Co‐Polymer Hydrogel and HeLa Cell Using Fluorescent Gold Nanoclusters: Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy and Anisotropy Decay

“…[1][2][3] Owing to their photostability, high quantum yield, water solubility, lower toxicity and biocompatibility, there has been widespread applications of these NCs ranging from imaging to drug delivery. [4][5][6][7] Many NCs have been developed using protein, polymer, peptide, and DNA as capping/stabilizing agents. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] The triblock co-polymers, P123 and F127 form hydrogel beyond a certain concentration of the polymer.…”