Polymeric Nanohybrids Fabricated with Photoluminescent Gold Nanoclusters for Biomedical Applications

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Gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) have drawn significant global attention due to their promising applications in bioimaging, catalysis, and sensing, owing to their intrinsic photoluminescence (PL), high photostability, and superior biocompatibility. Employing polymers to stabilize AuNCs (AuNCs@polymer) or for encapsulating AuNCs can lead to the development of monodisperse nanocomposites with extraordinary physicochemical properties, improved colloidal stability, as well as enhanced pharmacokinetic and optical properties. Particularly, polymer-functionalized protein-capped AuNCs (AuNCs@protein/polymer) nanoconjugates are potential multicomponent theranostic nanoprobes due to their synergistic promising properties and integrated therapeutic functionalities with imaging modalities. This article reviews the synthesis and research progress of such polymeric nanohybrids fabricated with AuNCs and highlights their unique advantages along with potential advancements for clinical translation.