Fabrication of avidin-stabilized gold nanoclusters with dual emissions and their application in biosensing

Abstract

Highlights 1. Avidin-stabilized gold nanoclusters (Av–Au NCs) were synthesized for the first time by a water-bath method. 2. The synthesized Av–Au NCs not only exhibited intense blue and red emissions under 374 nm excitation, but also retained the native functionality of avidin to bind to biotin. 3. The fluorescent signal amplification system constructed by the interaction of Av–Au NCs with biotin was successfully applied to detect target DNA in vitro.

Keywords

• Avidin-stabilized gold nanoclusters (Av–Au NCs)
• Protein-stabilized gold nanoclusters (Prot-Au NCs)
• Dual-functional
• Biosensor
• Detect