Bridging the gap: thymine segments to create single-stranded versions of DNA2-[Ag16Cl2]8+

Abstract

Significant effort has been invested into unraveling the structure–property relationship of DNA-AgNCs using relatively short DNA sequences. Due to the limited sequence length, two or more strands are often required to stabilize a DNA-AgNC. Therefore, functionalization inherently introduces multiple reactive sites, hindering the implementation of single-site linking strategies. Here, we exploit the concept of using a thymine linking segment to connect two small DNA strands to develop a single-stranded version of DNA₂-[Ag₁₆Cl₂]⁸⁺. Our results demonstrate that these redesigned constructs preserve the core AgNC structure and photophysical properties while enabling future single-site functionalization. Furthermore, this approach allows for experimental verification that the DNA linking segments do not interfere with AgNC formation.