About this Research Topic
Nanozyme, a class of nanomaterials with intrinsic enzyme-like properties, is a new concept which has been widely studied by scientists from the fields of biology, medicine, material science and chemistry. Nanozymes, like natural enzymes, can effectively catalyze the conversion of enzyme substrates under mild conditions and exhibit similar catalytic efficiency and enzymatic reaction kinetics. Moreover, nanozymes show several advantages over natural enzymes, such as controlled synthesis at low cost, tunability of catalytic activities, as well as high stability against stringent conditions. Consequently, nanozymes can be used to replace natural enzymes in various practical application. So far, more than 330 nanozymes have been reported from 290 laboratories in 29 countries, and their application has been extended to many fields such as biology, medicine, agriculture, and environmental governance.
Despite the remarkable progress that has been made in nanozyme research, there are still many challenges to be addressed in the future. The catalytic types of nanozymes need to be further expanded, and the catalytic activity and specificity of nanozymes need to be improved. It is crucial that the catalytic mechanism of nanozymes is demonstrated. In biomedical applications, more efforts are needed to balance the surface modification and enzymatic activity of nanozymes with regulation of multi-enzymatic activities of nanozymes. In addition, the safety concerns of nanozymes for in vivo applications also need to be investigated. Overall, this Research Topic seeks to advance our understanding of the new and very promising artificial enzymes and, more significantly, shed light on the improvements of these catalytic nanomaterials and their different biomedical applications. Areas to be covered in this Research Topic may include, but are not limited to:
• Rational design of nanozymes with unique properties and functions
• Design and preparation of nanozymes for biomedical diagnosis
• Nanozyme-based tumor catalytic therapy
• Use of nanozyme in combating bacteria and biofilms
• Biosafety analysis of nanozyme in vitro and in vivo
Despite the remarkable progress that has been made in nanozyme research, there are still many challenges to be addressed in the future. The catalytic types of nanozymes need to be further expanded, and the catalytic activity and specificity of nanozymes need to be improved. It is crucial that the catalytic mechanism of nanozymes is demonstrated. In biomedical applications, more efforts are needed to balance the surface modification and enzymatic activity of nanozymes with regulation of multi-enzymatic activities of nanozymes. In addition, the safety concerns of nanozymes for in vivo applications also need to be investigated. Overall, this Research Topic seeks to advance our understanding of the new and very promising artificial enzymes and, more significantly, shed light on the improvements of these catalytic nanomaterials and their different biomedical applications. Areas to be covered in this Research Topic may include, but are not limited to:
• Rational design of nanozymes with unique properties and functions
• Design and preparation of nanozymes for biomedical diagnosis
• Nanozyme-based tumor catalytic therapy
• Use of nanozyme in combating bacteria and biofilms
• Biosafety analysis of nanozyme in vitro and in vivo
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