(5) Conventionally, this method relies on small molecular probes of the distinct fluorescence arising from structural frameworks containing electron-donating and electron-accepting chemical groups. (4) Fluorescent imaging, due to its sensitivity, temporal as well as spatial resolution, and non-invasiveness, has become a primarily used research tool in biomedical science, being especially potent for in vivo studies. (3) Much evidence indicates that the surface polarity is tightly involved in basic physiological processes, including protein denaturation and folding, membrane fusion, and enzymatic activity. The design of smart probes that are sensitive to biomolecules’ polarity is highly demanded (1,2) in chemical as well as biological non-covalent effects (i.e., hydrogen bonding, bipolarity, hydration, and polarizability) as it plays a vital role. We show the potential of crown ether-capped gold nanoclusters in multimodal structural characterization of bio-interfaces where the amphiphilic character of the supramolecular ligand is required. Moreover, our clusters revealed structural features of individual amyloid fibrils at a nanoscale as observed under a transmission electron microscope. Our nanoclusters spontaneously stained densely packed amyloid spherulites as observed under fluorescence microscopy, which is limited for hydrophilic markers. In this work, we used protein superstructures, namely, amyloid spherulites, as a hydrophobic surface model and individual amyloid fibrils with a mixed hydrophobicity profile. They can serve as probes for multimodal bioimaging with light (as they emit near-infrared luminescence) and electron microscopy (due to the high electron density of gold). The nanoclusters present an amphiphilic character and can be successfully transferred between aqueous and organic solvents and have their physicochemical integrity retained. In this work, we present a synthesis, characterization, and application of ultrasmall gold nanoclusters capped with a 12-crown-4 ligand. Therefore, there is a need to image both hydrophilic and hydrophobic bio-interfaces with markers of distinct responses to hydrophobic and hydrophilic environments. The distinct polarity of biomolecule surfaces plays a pivotal role in their biochemistry and functions as it is involved in numerous processes, such as folding, aggregation, or denaturation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |