Solvent pH controls interactions of gold nanoclusters, offers potential applications in drugs and imaging
(PHYSorg.com Nanotechnology)

The properties of gold in nanoscale are significantly different to those of bulk gold. Of special interest are gold nanoclusters, that are composed of between tens to some hundreds of gold atoms. Numerous of such cluster structures are known and synthesizable to atomic precision. The aim of this thesis was to apply molecular dynamics simulations on investigating properties of gold nanoclusters in different environments. The simulations reveal that gold nanocluster can bind to viruses by different interactions, and that the strength of the interactions are dependent on pH conditions.