Gold Nanozymes: Smart Hybrids with Outstanding Applications

Abstract

Nanozymes are nanostructured artificial enzymes that have attracted great attention among researchers because of their ability to mimic relevant biological reactions carried out by their natural counterparts, but with the capability to overcome natural enzymes’ drawbacks such as low thermostability or narrow substrate scope. The promising enzyme-like properties of these systems make nanozymes excellent candidates for innovative solutions in different scientific fields such as analytical chemistry, catalysis or medicine. Thus, nanozymes with different type of activities are of special interest owing to their versatility since they can reproduce several biological reactions according to the substrates and the environmental conditions. In this context, gold-based nanozymes are a representative example of multifunctional structures that can perform a great number of enzyme-like activities. In addition, the combination of gold-based materials with structures of organic and inorganic chemical nature yields even more powerful hybrid nanozymes, which enhance their activity by providing improved features. This review will carry out a deep insight into gold-based nanozymes, revisiting not only the different type of biological enzymatic reactions that can be achieved with these kinds of systems, but also structural features of some of the most relevant hybrid gold-based nanozymes described in the literature. This literature review will also provide a representative picture of the potential of these structures to solve future technological challenges.

Optical Bioassays Based on the Signal Amplification of Redox Cycling

“…With this method, PSA was detected in a linear range from 0.005 to 0.5 ng/mL with a LOD of 1 pg/mL. It has been demonstrated that AuNPs show multiple enzyme-mimicking activities, including HRP, glucose oxidase, oxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase [58][59][60]. Although AuNPs have been widely used as nanozymes to develop versatile biosensors for the detection of various targets, the catalytic activity of AuNPs is relatively lower than that of natural enzymes or other nanozymes.…”

First-Row Transition 7-Oxo-5-phenyl-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine Metal Complexes: Antiparasitic Activity and Release Studies

“…The possibility of size and porosity control in their synthesis, as well as their versatility of functionalization make them one of the most useful types of carriers to distribute drugs in an efficient way [70,71]. Their nature can range from polymer- [72] or protein-based [73] to metallic gold [74], iron [75], or copper nanoparticles [76]. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles are one of the most-used nanosystems in biomedicine for drug delivery [77][78][79], despite the fact that their use in parasitology has just bloomed in the last five years [80][81][82].…”