Removal of the A 10 adenosine in a DNA-stabilized Ag 16 nanocluster.

The role of the terminal adenosine (A 10 ) on the spectroscopic and structural properties of a previously described DNA-stabilized Ag 16 nanocluster (DNA:Ag 16 NC) is presented. In the original DNA:Ag 16 NCs (5'-CACCTAGCGA-3'), the A 10 nucleobase was involved in an Ag + -mediated interaction with an A 10 in a neighboring asymmetric unit, and did not interact with the Ag 16 NC. Therefore, we synthesized AgNCs embedded in the corresponding 9-base sequence in order to investigate the crystal structure of these new DNA-A 10 :Ag 16 NCs and analyze the photophysical properties of the solution and crystalline state. The X-ray crystallography and spectroscopic measurements revealed that the 3'-end adenosine has little importance with respect to the photophysics and structure of the Ag 16 NCs. Additionally, the new crystallographic data was recorded with higher spatial resolution leading to a more detailed insight in the interactions between the nucleotides and Ag atoms.