Copper nanoclusters and their application for innovative fluorescent detection strategies: An overview

• DOI: 10.1016/j.snr.2022.100108
• Publication Date: 2022-06-06T06:30:38Z
• Authors: Mariagrazia Lettieri; Pasquale Palladino; Simona Scarano; Maria Minunni
• Keywords: Nanoclusters; Nanomaterials; Biocompatibility

Nanomaterials have revolutionized the design of detection strategies, and nowadays nanoparticles are extensively employed in innovative assays for selective sensitive a large variety analytes. Recently, new nanomaterials category, namely nanoclusters (NCs), is rapidly emerging. These nanostructures offer great advantages terms stability ease fabrication. The increasing interest NCs applications, well represented by wide bibliography reporting on gold silver NCs, opens perspectives copper (CuNCs). Compared to noble metals, CuNCs not only more easily available inexpensive, but also display unique photoluminescent properties with Stokes shifts, low toxicity, high biocompatibility, providing sensitivity even complex biological matrices. In this review, we present some relevant aspects application various main features that define most interesting properties, focusing as promising functional nanomaterial development fluorescent-based platforms.