Unique optical properties of silver cluster-biochromophore hybrids: Comparison with copper and gold

► Silver cluster-biochromophore hybrids exhibit markedly different optical properties than analogue copper and gold hybrids. ► For silver a localized resonance at approx. 320 nm is present, enhancing strongly the absorption of biomolecules. ► In contrast, copper and gold hybrid systems exhibit very different behavior due to a small s-d energy gap leading to a high density of states with low intensities spread in a broad energy interval.