Abstract
Luminescent metal clusters are a subject of growing interest in recent years due to their bright emission from visible to near infrared range. Detailed structure of the fluorescent complexes of Ag and other metal clusters with ligands still remains a challenging task. In this joint experimental and theoretical study we synthesized Ag-DNA complexes on a DNA oligonucleotide emitting in violet- green spectral range. The structure of DNA template was determined by means of various spectral measurements (CD, MS, XPS). Comparison of the experimental fluorescent excitation spectra and calculated absorption spectra for different QM/MM optimized structures allowed us to determine the detailed structure of the green cluster containing three silver atoms in the stem of the DNA hairpin structure stabilized by cytosine-Ag+-cytosine bonds.
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