Probing the Structure and Luminescence of N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Stabilized Atomically Precise Metal Nanoclusters for Application in Radiati

N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-protected gold nanoclusters (NCs) are stable, biocompatible, and have unique photophysical properties, making them well-suited for bioimaging, photodynamic, and radiation therapeutic applications for cancer treatment. Heterometallic NCs allow to fine-tune the core electronics and reactivity towards oxygen, which is unprecedented. However, it is not clear why particular NHC-stabilized metal NCs perform significantly better in X-ray radiation cancer treatment than others. Here we propose a detailed study of bioactive NHC-stabilized metal NCs by XAFS and XEOL to reveal the structure-properties relationship, focusing on the following three parameters that potentially affect their therapeutic efficacy: 1) metal core size, 2) sterics and electronics of NHC ligands, and 3) heteroatom doping. The knowledge obtained from this project will be essential to rationally tune the properties of NHC-stabilized metal NCs for their successful application in cancer treatment