Gold‐Cluster Degradation by the Transition of B‐DNA into A‐DNA and the Formation of Nanowires

Making 13 from 55: Au55 nanoclusters that interact with the major groove of B-DNA (see energy-minimized structure), are broken down into Au13 clusters by the transformation of B-DNA into A-DNA, during which the major groove shrinks dramatically. This transformation, which results in the formation of Au13 wires, is initiated by the dehydration of the B-DNA under the conditions required for electron microscopy.