The Au clusters induce tumor cell apoptosis via specifically targeting thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1) and suppressing its activity

Au25 clusters stabilized by tridecapeptides were firstly synthesized, which can well penetrate the cell membrane and exactly locate in the cytoplasm. Hence the Au clusters significantly suppress the TrxR1 activity in the cytoplasm, and further induce the up-regulation of the activated PARP level which allows the tumor cell apoptosis to occur in a Au dose dependent manner.