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Programming the Optoelectronic Properties of Atomically Precise Gold Nanoclusters Using the Conformational Landscape of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins
- The rational design of hybrid nanomaterials with precisely controlled properties remains a central challenge in materials science. While atomically precise gold nanoclusters (Au‐NCs) offer molecule‐like control over a metallic core, tuning their optoelectronic behavior via surface engineering is often empirically driven. Here, we establish a design principle by demonstrating that the conformational landscape of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDP) can be used as a programmable scaffold to rationally modulate the photophysical properties of a covalently bound Au‐NC. We synthesized a series of bioconjugates between Au 25 nanoclusters and bioengineered IDPs containing a variable number of cysteine anchoring points. A combination of mass spectrometry, small‐angle X‐ray scattering, and modeling on the conjugates indicates that increasing the number of covalent anchors systematically restricts the conformational ensemble, inducing a progressively more compact protein shell aroundThe rational design of hybrid nanomaterials with precisely controlled properties remains a central challenge in materials science. While atomically precise gold nanoclusters (Au‐NCs) offer molecule‐like control over a metallic core, tuning their optoelectronic behavior via surface engineering is often empirically driven. Here, we establish a design principle by demonstrating that the conformational landscape of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDP) can be used as a programmable scaffold to rationally modulate the photophysical properties of a covalently bound Au‐NC. We synthesized a series of bioconjugates between Au 25 nanoclusters and bioengineered IDPs containing a variable number of cysteine anchoring points. A combination of mass spectrometry, small‐angle X‐ray scattering, and modeling on the conjugates indicates that increasing the number of covalent anchors systematically restricts the conformational ensemble, inducing a progressively more compact protein shell around nanoclusters. This structural rigidification at the interface directly translates into a 15‐fold enhancement of the Au‐NC near‐infrared photoluminescence and a six‐fold increase in its average lifetime. Our findings demonstrate that the conformational plasticity of IDPs and the capacity to engineer them can be harnessed as a molecular tuning knob, moving to a new regime of programmable soft‐matter control over the properties of quantum‐confined nanomaterials for tailored biotechnological applications.…


| Autor*innen: | Santiago Rodriguez, Sylvain Kumanski, Zeineb Ayed, Aurélie Fournet, Charlène Bouanchaud, Amin Sagar, Frédéric Allemand, Vladimir A. Baulin, Ute Resch‐GengerORCiD, Juan Cortés, Nathalie Sibille, Fabien Chirot, Karl David WegnerORCiD, Rodolphe Antoine, Xavier Le Guével, Pau Bernadó |
|---|---|
| Dokumenttyp: | Zeitschriftenartikel |
| Veröffentlichungsform: | Verlagsliteratur |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Titel des übergeordneten Werkes (Englisch): | Chemistry – A European Journal |
| Jahr der Erstveröffentlichung: | 2026 |
| Organisationseinheit der BAM: | 1 Analytische Chemie; Referenzmaterialien |
| 1 Analytische Chemie; Referenzmaterialien / 1.2 Biophotonik | |
| Veröffentlichende Institution: | Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) |
| Verlag: | Wiley VHC-Verlag |
| Aufsatznummer: | e02991 |
| Erste Seite: | 1 |
| Letzte Seite: | 9 |
| DDC-Klassifikation: | Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / Chemie / Analytische Chemie |
| Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / Ingenieurwissenschaften / Ingenieurwissenschaften und zugeordnete Tätigkeiten | |
| Freie Schlagwörter: | Advanced material; Characterization; Custer; Fluorescence; Fluorescence quantum yield; Gold; Integrating sphere spectroscopy; Mass spectrometry; Nano; Protein; SWIR; Surface chemistry; Thiol ligands |
| Themenfelder/Aktivitätsfelder der BAM: | Chemie und Prozesstechnik |
| Chemie und Prozesstechnik / Chemische Charakterisierung und Spurenanalytik | |
| Material | |
| Material / Advanced Materials | |
| DOI: | 10.1002/chem.202502991 |
| URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-655086 |
| ISSN: | 0947-6539 |
| Verfügbarkeit des Dokuments: | Datei für die Öffentlichkeit verfügbar ("Open Access") |
| Lizenz (Deutsch): | Creative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
| Datum der Freischaltung: | 16.02.2026 |
| Referierte Publikation: | Ja |
| Datum der Eintragung als referierte Publikation: | 16.02.2026 |
| Schriftenreihen ohne Nummerierung: | Wissenschaftliche Artikel der BAM |


