Curcumin-conjugated gold clusters (CUR-AuNCs) were synthesized using a “green” procedure and utilized as an anticancer and a bioimaging agent. Curcumin is a well-known anticancer agent, which forms a cluster when reacting with a gold precursor under mild alkali condition. A fluorescence spectroscopy analysis showed that the CUR-AuNCs emitted red fluorescence (650 nm) upon visible light (550) irradiation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis confirmed the stretching and bending nature between the gold atoms and curcumin. Meanwhile, transmission electron microscopy analysis showed a cluster of approximately 1–3 nm with a uniform size. Time-resolved fluorescence analysis demonstrated that the red fluorescence was highly stable. Moreover, laser confocal imaging and atomic force microscopy analysis illustrated that a cluster was well distributed in the cell. This cluster exhibited less toxicity in the mortal cell line (COS-7) and high toxicity in the cervical cancer cell line (HeLa). The results demonstrated the conjugation of curcumin into the fluorescent gold cluster as a potential material for anticancer therapy and bioimaging applications.

中文翻译：

---

姜黄素结合的金簇在生物成像和抗癌中的应用

姜黄素缀合的金簇（CUR-AuNCs）使用“绿色”程序合成，并用作抗癌剂和生物成像剂。姜黄素是众所周知的抗癌剂，在温和的碱性条件下与金前体反应时会形成团簇。荧光光谱分析表明，CUR-AuNCs在可见光（550）照射下发出红色荧光（650 nm）。傅里叶变换红外光谱分析证实了金原子和姜黄素之间的拉伸和弯曲性质。同时，透射电子显微镜分析显示出大约1-3 nm的簇，大小均匀。时间分辨荧光分析表明红色荧光是高度稳定的。而且，激光共聚焦成像和原子力显微镜分析表明，簇在细胞中分布良好。该簇对人细胞系（COS-7）的毒性较小，而对宫颈癌细胞系（HeLa）的毒性较高。结果表明姜黄素结合到荧光金簇中，作为抗癌治疗和生物成像应用的潜在材料。