In a recent publication in the prestigious Journal of the Americam Chemical Society (JACS) Arturo Lopez Quintela and co-workers have demonstrated that Silver atomic quantum clusters (AgAQCs), with two or three silver atoms, supplied by Nanogap, show electrocatalytic activities that are not found in nanoparticles or in bulk silver.
AgAQCs supported on glassy carbon electrodes oxidize ethanol and other alcohols in macroscopic electrochemical cells in acidic and basic media. This electrocatalysis occurs at very low potentials (from ~ +200 mV vs RHE), at physiological pH, and at ethanol concentrations that are found in alcoholic patients. When mammalian cells are co-exposed to ethanol and AgAQCs, alcohol-induced alterations such as rounded cell morphology, disorganization of the actin cytoskeleton, and activation of caspase-3 are all prevented.
Overall, the findings not only show that AgAQCs are efficient electrocatalysts at physiological pH and prevent ethanol toxicity in cultured mammalian cells, but also suggest that AgAQCs could be used to modify redox reactions and in this way promote or inhibit biological reactions. The full publication can be accessed through:
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