Design of a polymer ligand for the one-step preparation of highly stable fluorescent Ag sub(5) clusters for tissue labeling

Highly stable water-soluble fluorescent Ag sub(5) clusters with a quantum yield of 9.7% were synthesized using a specially designed tridentate polymer ligand by one-step reduction. The fluorescence may be associated with the dominant Ag super(+) species on the surface of the clusters. The resultant Ag nanoclusters were used as biomarkers to label mouse liver tissues successfully for the first time.