When nanozymes meet deoxyribonucleic acid: Understanding their interactions and biomedical diagnosis applications

Abstract

As emerging alternatives to natural enzymes, nanoscale materials featuring enzyme‐like catalytic behaviors (nanozymes) exhibit some attractive merits including robust activity, low cost, and easy‐to‐regulate performance. These merits have enabled them to be intensively used in the biomedical field in recent years. To remedy the lack of catalytic selectivity in most nanozymes, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) chains with specific recognition functions are utilized to integrate with nanozymes to produce various nanozyme–DNA combinations via adsorption/desorption. In the formed combinations, the DNA component provides the molecular/ionic recognition role, and the nanozyme part offers response with catalytically amplified signals, enabling them to detect analytes and biomarkers selectively and sensitively. To highlight this interesting topic, here we made a critical review of the interactions between nanozymes and DNA and their applications in biosensing and disease diagnosis. First, strategies for the conjugation of DNA chains onto nanozyme surface were introduced briefly. Then, the interactions between DNA and nanozymes were summarized in detail, where flexible modulations of nanozyme activity by DNA adsorption/desorption as well as various factors were analyzed, and potential impacts caused by nanozymes on the recognition characteristics of DNA chains were pointed out. After that, typical applications of DNA‐mediated nanozyme modulation in toxic ion sensing, health risk factor monitoring, and biomedical diagnosis were introduced. In the end, prospects of the combination of nanozymes and DNA chains were presented, and future challenges of the emerging field were also discussed, to attract more interest and effort to advance this promising area.

CoMnOx Nanoflower-Based Smartphone Sensing Platform and Virtual Reality Display for Colorimetric Detection of Ziram and Cu2+

“…According to different catalytic types, redox nanozymes often present many kinds of simulated enzyme activities, such as peroxidase-(POD), oxidase-(OXD), catalase-(CAT), and superoxide dismutase-like (SOD) activities [19][20][21][22]. Most research in the field currently focuses on peroxidase-like activity, whereas oxidaselike activity receives much less attention [23][24][25][26]. In the process of catalysis by peroxidase mimics, external H 2 O 2 is required to act as an electron acceptor.…”

A Programmable Microfluidic Paper-Based Analytical Device for Simultaneous Colorimetric and Photothermal Visual Sensing of Multiple Enzyme Activities

“…To acquire more reliable and robust performance, a multimode sensing strategy supplies a built-in self-calibration function for target POC detection with complementary and diversified detection outcomes via the integration of relatively independent signal outputs. − Nanozyme-based colorimetric assays have attracted increasing attention due to their inherent advantages including robustness, cost-effectiveness, simplified operation, adjustable catalytic activity, and feasibility for on-site detection. − Specifically, the 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB)–H 2 O 2 colorimetric system driven by peroxidase (POD)-like nanozymes has gained widespread usage for chemical and biological sensing, as well as clinical diagnosis. − Promisingly, the oxidation of TMB (ox-TMB) not only generates a discernible chromogenic reaction but also demonstrates a robust photothermal effect in the near-infrared range. − This unique photothermal conversion property could be used to establish a direct/indirect proportional relationship between temperature and the concentration of target analytes, termed as “photothermal detection”, has thus emerged as a promising analysis protocol with the capability of high spatiotemporal control and immunity to background color and environmental fluctuations. − Consequently, the TMB–H 2 O 2 sensing system incorporating both colorimetric and photothermal dual-signal readouts has gained widespread applications in multimode biosensing and environmental monitoring due to its exceptional performance in cost-effectiveness, operational simplicity, and on-site detection capabilities. − However, the catalytic efficiency of POD-like nanozymes in this approach is typically optimized under acidic conditions (pH 3.0–5.0), which deviates from the neutral physiological conditions observed in bioenzymes. − This discrepancy significantly compromises the advancement of bioenzyme–nanozyme cascade sensing systems.…”