Framework Nucleic Acid-Enabled Programming of Electrochemical Catalytic Properties of Artificial Enzymes

The creation and engineering of artificial enzymes remain a challenge, especially the arrangement of enzymes into geometric patterns with nanometer precision. In this work, we fabricated a series of novel DNA-tetrahedron-scaffolded-DNAzymes (Tetrazymes) and evaluated the catalytic activity of these Tetrazymes by electrochemistry. Tetrazymes were constructed by precisely positioning G-quadruplex on different sites of a DNA tetrahedral framework, with hemin employed as the co-catalyst. Immobilization of Tetrazymes on a gold electrode surface revealed horseradish peroxidase (HPR)-mimicking bioelectrocatalytic property. Cyclic voltammogram and amperometry were employed to evaluate the capability of Tetrazymes of different configurations to electrocatalyze the reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). These artificial Tetrazymes displayed 6- to 14-fold higher enzymatic activity than G-quadruplex/hemin (G4-hemin) without the DNA tetrahedron scaffold, demonstrating application potential in developing novel G-quadruplex-based electrochemical sensors.

Revealing the Active Site of Gold Nanoparticles for the Peroxidase-Like Activity: The Determination of Surface Accessibility

Despite the fact that the enzyme-like activities of nanozymes (i.e., nanomaterial-based artificial enzymes) are highly associated with their surface properties, little is known about the catalytic active sites. Here, we used the sulfide ion (S2−)-induced inhibition of peroxidase-like activity to explore active sites of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The inhibition mechanism was based on the interaction with Au(I) to form Au2S, implying that the Au(I) might be the active site of AuNPs for the peroxidase-like activity. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that the content of Au(I) on the surface of AuNPs significantly decreased after the addition of S2−, which might be contributed to the more covalent Au–S bond in the formation of Au2S. Importantly, the variations of Au(I) with and without the addition of S2− for different surface-capped AuNPs were in good accordance with their corresponding peroxidase-like activities. These results confirmed that the accessible Au(I) on the surface was the main requisite for the peroxidase-like activity of AuNPs for the first time. In addition, the use of S2− could assist to determine available active sites for different surface modified AuNPs. This work not only provides a new method to evaluate the surface accessibility of colloidal AuNPs but also gains insight on the design of efficient AuNP-based peroxidase mimics.

Magnetite/Ceria Nanoparticle Assemblies for Extracorporeal Cleansing of Amyloid-β in Alzheimer's Disease

Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in the brain is regarded as a major contributor to the pathogenesis and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, development of clinically relevant techniques to reduce Aβ levels in AD patients is hindered by low efficiency and/or side effects. Here, an extracorporeal Aβ cleansing system, where multifunctional magnetite/ceria nanoparticle assemblies are used to remove Aβ peptides from flowing blood by specific capture and magnetic separation, is reported. The magnetite nanoparticles in the nanoassembly core enable the magnetic isolation of the captured Aβ peptides by generating a large attraction force under an external magnetic field. The ceria nanoparticles in the nanoassembly shell relieve oxidative stress by scavenging reactive oxygen species that are produced by immune response during the process. Blood Aβ cleansing treatment of 5XFAD transgenic mice not only demonstrates the decreased Aβ levels both in the blood and in the brain but also prevents the spatial working memory deficits, suggesting the potential of the method for AD prevention and therapy.

VO x Quantum Dots with Multienzyme-Mimic Activities and the Application in Constructing a Three-Dimensional (3D) Coordinate System for Accurate Discrimination of the Hydrogen Peroxide over a Broad Concentration Range

The construction of efficient nanozyme with multienzyme activities in a simple way is vital for the wide biological and chemical applications. Generally, the mimic enzyme activities depend on their sizes, surface states, and materials types. Quantum dots (QDs), one type of zero-dimensional nanomaterials, are much appealing due to their abundant catalytically active surface deficiency. The vanadium oxide (VO _x) is one special transition metal oxides possessing different valence states. Inspired by these views, we synthesized VO _xQDs herein via a one-pot top-down ethanol-thermal method using bulk VO₂ as the precursor. The VO _xQDs showed not only oxidase- and peroxidase-like activities in ethanol as the main background solution (ethanol-BGS), but also exhibited additional superoxide dismutase mimetic activity in phosphate buffer solution. Furthermore, the TMB-VO _xQDs system in the ethanol-BGS produced three distinct colors in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) at three different concentration gradients (10-90 μM, 0.1-10 mM, and 20-100 mM). Accordingly, we constructed a three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system (3D-CS) by using the three variables: the initial velocities, the maximum absorption values and the visual colors of the enzymatic reaction system. As a result, the rapid detection of H₂O₂ can be achieved while effectively avoiding the faked appearance due to the inhibition effects to the enzymatic system at too high H₂O₂ concentration. The applicability of the VO _xQDs based 3D-CS was further proved via the facile and accurate H₂O₂ assays in three different practical samples.

Nanomaterials with enzyme-like characteristics (nanozymes): next-generation artificial enzymes (II)

An updated comprehensive review to help researchers understand nanozymes better and in turn to advance the field.

Nanozymes in Nanofibrous Mats with Haloperoxidase-like Activity To Combat Biofouling

Electrospun polymer mats are widely used in tissue engineering, wearable electronics, and water purification. However, in many environments, the polymer nanofibers prepared by electrospinning suffer from biofouling during long-term usage, resulting in persistent infections and device damage. Herein, we describe the fabrication of polymer mats with CeO_{2- x} nanorods that can prevent biofouling in an aqueous environment. The embedded CeO_{2- x} nanorods are functional mimics of natural haloperoxidases that catalyze the oxidative bromination of Br^- and H₂O₂ to HOBr. The generated HOBr, a natural signaling molecule, disrupted the bacterial quorum sensing, a critical step in biofilm formation. The polymer fibers provide porous structures with high water wettability, and the embedded cerium oxide nanozymes act as a catalyst that can efficiently trigger oxidative bromination, as shown by a haloperoxidase assay. Additionally, the embedded nanozymes enhance the mechanical property of polymer mats, as shown by a single-fiber bending test using atomic force microscopy. We envision that the fabricated polymer mats with CeO_{2- x} nanorods may be used to provide mechanically robust coatings with antibiofouling properties.

Water dispersed two-dimensional ultrathin Fe(iii)-modified covalent triazine framework nanosheets: peroxidase like activity and colorimetric biosensing applications

Peroxidase mimics have attracted increasing attention as emerging artificial enzymes due to their promising applications in many fields, including bionanotechnology, sustainable chemistry, and environmental remediation. Although many types of peroxidase mimics have been successfully exploited in the past decade, the development of an innovative peroxidase mimic that does not contain noble metals, but exhibits remarkable peroxidase-like activity and low cytotoxicity still remains a major challenge in this field. Herein, we present a bulk covalent triazine framework cleavage and metal atom anchoring strategy for the synthesis of iron-modified two-dimensional covalent triazine frameworks (2D Fe-CTFs) that demonstrate excellent peroxidase-like activity. Furthermore, three kinds of colorimetric sensing platforms for sarcosine, ochratoxin A, and fluoride ions were constructed based on the intrinsic peroxidase-like activity, salt-induced coagulation, and coordination competition of the 2D Fe-CTF, respectively. This work may provide a new synthetic method for peroxidase mimics that can be used in various colorimetric sensors.

CeO2-x nanorods with intrinsic urease-like activity

The large-scale production and ecotoxicity of urea make its removal from wastewater a health and environmental challenge. Whereas the industrial removal of urea relies on hydrolysis at elevated temperatures and high pressure, nature solves the urea disposal problem with the enzyme urease under ambient conditions. We show that CeO2-x nanorods (NRs) act as the first and efficient green urease mimic that catalyzes the hydrolysis of urea under ambient conditions with an activity (kcat = 9.58 × 101 s-1) about one order of magnitude lower than that of the native jack bean urease. The surface properties of CeO2-x NRs were probed by varying the Ce4+/Ce3+ ratio through La doping. Although La substitution increased the number of surface defects, the reduced number of Ce4+ sites with higher Lewis acidity led to a slight decrease of their catalytic activity. CeO2-x NRs are stable against pH changes and even to the presence of transition metal ions like Cu2+, one of the strongest urease inhibitors. The low costs and environmental compatibility make CeO2-x NRs a green urease substitute that may be applied in polymer membranes for water processing or filters for the waste water reclamation. The biomimicry approach allows the application of CeO2-x NRs as functional enzyme mimics where the use of native or recombinant enzyme is hampered because of its costs or operational stability.