Green synthesis of peptide-templated fluorescent copper nanoclusters for temperature sensing and cellular imaging

A simple and green approach was developed for the preparation of fluorescent Cu nanoclusters (NCs) using the artificial peptide CLEDNN as a template. The as-synthesized Cu NCs exhibited a high fluorescence quantum yield (7.3%) and good stability, along with excitation and temperature dependent fluorescent properties, which could be employed for temperature sensing. Further investigations demonstrated low toxicity of Cu NCs for cellular imaging.