Luminescent Metal Nanoclusters

Prof. Sabu Thomas is a Professor of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Director of the School of Energy Materials at Mahatma Gandhi University, India. Additionally, he is the Chairman of the Trivandrum Engineering Science & Technology Research Park (TrEST Research Park) in Thiruvananthapuram, India. He is the founder director of the International and Inter-university Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at Mahatma Gandhi University and the former Vice-Chancellor of the same institution. Prof. Thomas is internationally recognized for his contributions to polymer science and engineering, with his research interests encompassing polymer nanocomposites, elastomers, polymer blends, interpenetrating polymer networks, polymer membranes, green composites, nanocomposites, nanomedicine, and green nanotechnology. His groundbreaking inventions in polymer nanocomposites, polymer blends, green bionanotechnology, and nano-biomedical sciences have significantly advanced the development of new materials for the automotive, space, housing, and biomedical fields. Dr. Thomas has been conferred with Honoris Causa (DSc) by the University of South Brittany, France. Kuruvilla Joseph is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, India. His research areas includes nanomaterials and nanocomposites, polymer blends and composites, synthesis of polymers from natural resources, green materials and biocomposites, aging and degradation, and development of biosensors. Dr. Saritha Appukuttan was awarded her PhD from Mahatma Gandhi University in 2012 working in the field of polymer nanocomposites. She has also been worked for two years on the development of gas barrier membranes on an ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) project. She has published around 25 book chapters with highly reputed publishers and several research papers in high impact international journals such as Composites Part A, Composites Part B, and Materials Chemistry and Physics and has edited two books on “Fibre Reinforced Composites: Constituents, compatibility, perspectives and applications” (Elsevier) and on “Luminescent Metal Nanoclusters” (Elsevier). Currently, she is editing two more books on “Lignin and its Composites: A sustainable tool for health care and medical applications” and “Zero-Dimensional Carbon Nanostructures” to be published by RSC and Elsevier, respectively. Meegle S. Mathew is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Mar Athanasius College, Kothamangalam, India. Her research interests cover nano-biophotonics, optical imaging, the development of biosensors and biomedical devices using fluorescent nanoparticles, polymer nanocomposites for biomedical applications, photocatalysis, and photoreduction.

1. General introduction—luminescent metal nanoclusters 2. Methods of synthesis of metal nanoclusters 3. Analytical tools for the characterization and quantification of metal nanoclusters 4. Mass spectrometry and metal nanoclusters 5. Origin of luminescence of metal nanoclusters 6. General purification methods of metal nanoclusters 7. Phosphine and thiol protected metal nanoclusters 8. Polymer- and dendrimer-protected metal nanoclusters 9. DNA-protected metal nanoclusters 10. Peptide-protected metal nanoclusters 11. Protein and enzyme protected metal nanoclusters 12. Alloy nanoclusters-synthesis methods and structural evaluation 13. Self-assembly of metal nanoclusters in colloid science 14. Applications of metallic nanoclusters in bioimaging 15. Biomarker sensing using luminescent metal nanoclusters 16. Environmental applications of luminescent metal nanoclusters 17. Therapeutic applications of metal nanoclusters 18. Stimuli-responsive metal nanoclusters for targeted drug and gene delivery and their biomedical applications 19. Antimicrobial properties of metal nanoclusters 20. Metal nanoclusters as photosensitizers 21. Metal nanoclusters for catalytic applications: synthesis and characterization 22. Metal nanoclusters for energy storage applications 23. Bioavailability, biodistribution, and toxicity of fluorescent metal nanoclusters 24. Luminescent Metal Nanoclusters: Summary and future outlook