“…Ligand-protected, quantum-sized metal nanoclusters (NCs) consisting of tens to hundreds of metal (Au, Ag, Pt, Cu) atoms are ultrasmall particles (<3 nm in core) with attractive physicochemical properties [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. The strong quantum confinement exerted on particles at this size regime allows them to possess molecular-like photoabsorptions and photoemissions [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ], intriguing magnetism [ 10 ] and chirality [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ] and excellent catalytic properties [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Among various ligand-protected metal NCs, protein-stabilized or protein-templated metal NCs are particularly interesting thanks to their unique protein-coated surface [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ].…”