A “light-up” and “spectrum-shift” response of aptamer-functionalized silver nanoclusters for intracellular mRNA imaging†
Abstract
We have designed a novel multifunctional DNA scaffold for the synthesis of fluorescent silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) using a one-pot approach. The obtained DNA/Ag NCs presented a “light-up” and “spectrum-shift” response to target DNA in vitro and could further image the tumor-related mRNA in living cells.