Peroxidase memetic
nanozymes with their free radical-mediated catalytic
actions proved as efficacious antibacterial agents for combating bacterial
resistance. Herein, nanocellulose (NC) extracted from
Eragrostis
teff
straw was used to prepare NC/Fe
3
O
4
/Ag peroxidase nanozyme as an antibacterial and wound healing agent.
Characterization of the nanozyme with XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX, and XPS
confirmed the presence of silver NPs and the magnetite phase of iron
oxide dispersed on nanocellulose. The peroxidase activity of the prepared
nanozyme was examined using TMB and H
2
O
2
as
substrates which turned blue in acidic pH (λ
max
=
652 nm). With a lower
K
m
(0.387 mM), the
nanozyme showed a comparable affinity for TMB with that reported for
the HRP enzyme. Furthermore, the nanozyme remained efficient over
a broader temperature range while maintaining 61.53% of its activity
after the fourth cycle. In vitro, antibacterial tests against
Escherichia coli
(Gram-negative) and
Staphylococcus aureus
(Gram-positive) bacterial strains
showed that NC/Fe
3
O
4
/Ag exhibits concentration-dependent
and enhanced antibacterial effect for
Escherichia coli
compared to NC and NC-Fe
3
O
4
and negative control.
Furthermore, the wound-healing performance of the NC-Fe
3
O
4
–Ag nanozyme was investigated in vivo using an
animal model (mice). The nanozyme showed 30% higher wound healing
performance compared to the control base ointment and is comparable
with the commercial nitrofurazone ointment. The results show the potential
of the prepared nanozyme for wound-healing purposes.