A sub-nanometer gold sticker for blocking efficiently endotoxin activity to protect against sepsis is disclosed. The sub-nanometer gold sticker comprises a gold nanocluster that serves as a flake-like substrate and a coating of short alkyl motifs that act as an adhesive, allowing the sub-nanometer gold sticker to dock with LPS by compacting the intramolecular hydrocarbon chain-chain distance (d-spacing) of lipid A, an endotoxicity active site that can cause overwhelming cytokine induction resulting in sepsis progression. Methods of blocking endotoxin activity, and suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokines are also disclosed. Also disclosed is a method of protecting against endotoxin-induced sepsis via increasing critical micelle concentration for the inhibition of LPS non-lamellar aggregation.
