Engineering Single-Atom Nanozymes for Catalytic Biomedical Applications.

Nanomaterials with enzyme-mimicking properties, coined as nanozymes, are a promising alternative to natural enzymes owing to their remarkable advantages, such as high stability, easy preparation, and favorable catalytic performance. Recently, with the rapid development of nanotechnology and characterization techniques, single atom nanozymes (SAzymes) with atomically dispersed active sites, well-defined electronic and geometric structures, tunable coordination environment, and maximum metal atom utilization are developed and exploited. With superior catalytic performance and selectivity, SAzymes have made impressive progress in biomedical applications and are expected to bridge the gap between artificial nanozymes and natural enzymes. Herein, the recent advances in SAzyme preparation methods, catalytic mechanisms, and biomedical applications are systematically summarized. Their biomedical applications in cancer therapy, oxidative stress cytoprotection, antibacterial therapy, and biosensing are discussed in depth. Furthermore, to appreciate these advances, the main challenges, and prospects for the future development of SAzymes are also outlined and highlighted in this review.

Iron-siRNA Nanohybrids for Enhanced Chemodynamic Therapy via Ferritin Heavy Chain Downregulation.

Ferrous iron (Fe2+ ) has more potent hydroxyl radical (⋅OH)-generating ability than other Fenton-type metal ions, making Fe-based nanomaterials attractive for chemodynamic therapy (CDT). However, because Fe2+ can be converted by ferritin heavy chain (FHC) to nontoxic ferric form and then sequestered in ferritin, therapeutic outcomes of Fe-mediated CDT agents are still far from satisfactory. Here we report the synthesis of siRNA-embedded Fe0 nanoparticles (Fe0 -siRNA NPs) for self-reinforcing CDT via FHC downregulation. Upon internalization by cancer cells, pH-responsive Fe0 -siRNA NPs are degraded to release Fe2+ and FHC siRNA in acidic endo/lysosomes with the aid of oxygen (O2 ). The accompanied O2 depletion causes an intracellular pH decrease, which further promotes the degradation of Fe0 -siRNA NPs. In addition to initiating chemodynamic process, Fe2+ -catalyzed ⋅OH generation facilitates endo/lysosomal escape of siRNA by disrupting the membranes, enabling FHC downregulation-enhanced CDT.