Fluorescent glyco-gold nanocluster induced EGFR mediated targeting of cancer cells.

A lot of attention has been focused on the functionalization of carbohydrate ligands on specific sizes and shapes of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), where ultrasmall fluorescent AuNPs have not been well explored for direct imaging. Herein, we have engineered fluorescent gold nanoclusters with sulfated oligo-iduronic acid ligands (I34), which strongly bind to the HB-EGF receptor over FGF2, and regulate EGF receptor-mediated cancer cell homing in both two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) cell culture systems. These results offer a new practical and direct imaging tool for carbohydrate research.