Metal–Support Interactions of Single-Atom Catalysts for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The development of single-atom catalysts (SACs) has become a rapidly growing research field. It is a critical challenge to understand the interactions between the single-atom metal active sites and the support materials. Recently, original research reports of SACs in biomedical applications have emerged in the literature, yet this topic has seldom been reviewed. Here, this review focuses on the latest advances in single-atom catalysis for biomedical applications and highlights the keys for the design of SACs, such as understanding the interactions between metals and supports and classifying various enzyme-like activities. This review helps bridge the knowledge of multiple disciplines and provides prospects regarding the development of SACs for biomedicine.

Single–atom catalysts based on Fenton-like/peroxymonosulfate system for water purification: design and synthesis principle, performance regulation and catalytic mechanism

“…According to the definition of SACs, the active metal in the form of a single atom is anchored and dispersed on the surface of a carrier through covalent or ionic interaction with adjacent atoms, and there is no interaction between each isolated metal atom. [33][34][35] However, the coordination environment of isolated metal species may not be completely consistent. When they are completely consistent, single-atom catalysis is also known as unit point catalysis.…”

Single-Site Fe-N-C Atom Based Carbon Nanotubes for Mutually Promoted and Synergistic Oncotherapy

“…Single-atom catalysts (SACs), employing low-coordinated single atoms as catalytically active sites, are types of atomically dispersed nanozymes with excellent atom utilization. − Due to the inherited advantages of both superb catalytic activity and selectivity, SACs have attracted great attention in antitumor treatment. − Particularly, SACs with peroxidase (POD)-like activity can effectively catalyze hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) into cytotoxic hydroxyl radicals ( • OH) in a slightly acidic tumor microenvironment (TME) and induce chemodynamic therapy (CDT) for tumors. , The generated • OH species not only impaired DNA strands intracellularly but also activated the expressions of proapoptotic proteins, further inducing a programmed cell apoptosis. , Du et al proposed a new SAC based on single Fe atoms supported on CNTs (CNTs/Fe-N-C), which had excellent POD-like activity and was applied in biosensing techniques . Nevertheless, inherent limitations, such as insufficient H 2 O 2 content (50–100 μM) in tumor tissues, can result in a limited antitumor effect of SACs, which may lead to the incomplete elimination of cancer cells. , As a result, the research of noninvasive and high-efficiency techniques for oncotherapy based on SACs is still ongoing.…”

Single-atom nanozymes: From bench to bedside

“…Since the structure and catalytic performance of SACs can be fabricated similar to natural enzymes, SACs with enzyme-like properties can be used for mimicking the biocatalytic reactions and referred to as singleatom nanozymes (SANs) [36,37]. Attributed to their superior performance, high substrate specificities, excellent catalytic activity, and good biocompatibility, single-atom catalysts exhibit huge application potential in biomedicine [38][39][40]. In this review, we mainly focus on the latest research progress of single-atom…”