With the support of the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Jeffrey Petty of Furman University is developing hierarchal nanoparticles that catalyze chemical reactions. Nanometer-sized gold particles will be platforms for assembling and organizing a dense array of DNA. In turn, these appended strands of DNA will encapsulate and shield silver nanoclusters to yield nanoscale conjugates that survive in harsh aqueous and biological environments. While DNA-cluster conjugates are distinguished by their strong fluorescence, the proposed studies will investigate their catalytic activity. Alkyne-azide cycloadditions are widely used in nanoscience because they are efficient and rapid, and these reactions have been shown to be catalyzed by DNA bound silver clusters. In this project, DNA-silver cluster conjugates will be assembled using gold nanoparticles to form hierarchal constructs that will be potent catalysts for alkyne-azide click cycloadditions. The proposed studies will comprehensively educate young scientists through interdisciplinary chemistry research coupled with community outreach. Undergraduate students will study a multifaceted scientific problem that bridges nanoscience, physical chemistry, and biochemistry. Undergraduate students will develop the needed expertise for nanomaterial characterization by using a diverse suite of spectroscopic, chromatographic, and mass spectrometry tools, while furthering their educ