Biological Oxidase Enzyme Mimetic Cu‐Pt Nanoalloys: A Multifunctional Nanozyme for Colorimetric Detection of Ascorbic Acid and Identification of Mammalian Cells

Abstract

AbstractNanomaterials serving as artificial enzymes of the new generation (nanozymes), exhibit enhanced catalytic performance, excellent stability, low cost of production, and other associated properties of nanoparticles. This emerging field of nanozymes has broad‐spectrum potential applications in the bridging area nanotechnology and biomedicine. Among metal‐based nanozymes, bimetallic nanoparticles have been found to show enhanced catalytic performance and display ability to catalyze multistep reactions typically not observed in their monometallic counterparts. Herein, we report the synthesis of Cu−Pt based bimetallic nanoalloys coated with a nonionic surfactant polyoxyethylene cholesteryl ether. The characterization data suggest that the developed nanoalloys have an almost uniform distribution of Cu and Pt (1:1) elements; therefore, this novel technique could be used for the large‐scale synthesis of Cu−Pt based nanozymes in a one‐step procedure. Further investigations showed that these bimetallic nanoalloys possess excellent biological oxidase enzyme‐like activity and the catalytic activity could be performed at harsh conditions of pH and temperature. Oxidase activity of Cu−Pt nanoalloys was utilized for the sensitive detection of ascorbic acid in the sub‐micromolar concentration range. Supplementing ATP in the oxidase reaction, the nanozyme showed enhanced catalytic activity, which was used for the detection of human liver cells.