TY - JOUR
T1 - Permanent excimer superstructures by supramolecular networking of metal quantum clusters
AU - Santiago-Gonzalez, Beatriz
AU - Monguzzi, Angelo
AU - Azpiroz, Jon Mikel
AU - Prato, Mirko
AU - Erratico, Silvia
AU - Campione, Marcello
AU - Lorenzi, Roberto
AU - Pedrini, Jacopo
AU - Santambrogio, Carlo
AU - Torrente, Yvan
AU - De Angelis, Filippo
AU - Meinardi, Francesco
AU - Brovelli, Sergio
PY - 2016/8/5
Y1 - 2016/8/5
N2 - Excimers are evanescent quasi-particles that typically form during collisional intermolecular interactions and exist exclusively for their excited-state lifetime. We exploited the distinctive structure of metal quantum clusters to fabricate permanent excimer-like colloidal superstructures made of ground-state noninteracting gold cores, held together by a network of hydrogen bonds between their capping ligands. This previously unknown aggregation state of matter, studied through spectroscopic experiments and ab initio calculations, conveys the photophysics of excimers into stable nanoparticles, which overcome the intrinsic limitation of excimers in single-particle applications - that is, their nearly zero formation probability in ultra-diluted solutions. In vitro experiments demonstrate the suitability of the superstructures as nonresonant intracellular probes and further reveal their ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species, which enhances their potential as anticytotoxic agents for biomedical applications.
AB - Excimers are evanescent quasi-particles that typically form during collisional intermolecular interactions and exist exclusively for their excited-state lifetime. We exploited the distinctive structure of metal quantum clusters to fabricate permanent excimer-like colloidal superstructures made of ground-state noninteracting gold cores, held together by a network of hydrogen bonds between their capping ligands. This previously unknown aggregation state of matter, studied through spectroscopic experiments and ab initio calculations, conveys the photophysics of excimers into stable nanoparticles, which overcome the intrinsic limitation of excimers in single-particle applications - that is, their nearly zero formation probability in ultra-diluted solutions. In vitro experiments demonstrate the suitability of the superstructures as nonresonant intracellular probes and further reveal their ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species, which enhances their potential as anticytotoxic agents for biomedical applications.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.aaf4924
DO - 10.1126/science.aaf4924
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84982823075
VL - 353
SP - 571
EP - 575
JO - Science
JF - Science
SN - 0036-8075
IS - 6299
ER -