Development of a near infrared Au-Ag bimetallic nanocluster for ultrasensitive detection of toxic Pb ions and inside cells.

Although the research activities pertaining to the synthesis of fluorescent noble metal nanoclusters (NCs) and their applications in biological optics have been growing, only limited information is available in the near IR (NIR) region. However, fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy in the NIR region offer significant advantages over UV and visible wavelengths. In this manuscript, we demonstrate bio-mineralized synthesis of stable Au-Ag bimetallic NCs with tunable NIR fluorescence using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a protein template.