The effect of DNA on the oxidase activity of nanoceria with different morphologies

Many nanomaterials have been reported to have enzyme-like activities and are considered as nanozymes. As a multifunctional nanozyme, nanoceria has received much attention due to the dual oxidation states of Ce³⁺/Ce⁴⁺ which facilitate redox reactions at the particle surface. Despite the advantages of nanozymes, their limited activity and lack of enzyme specificity are still problems to be resolved. DNA is used to modulate the oxidase activity of nanoceria because it has recently become an important molecule in bionanotechnology. However, the current research on the effect of DNA on the oxidase mimetic activity of nanoceria is contradictory. It has been discovered that nanoceria used in recent works are different, including in particle size, doping and concentration, and these differences may affect the interaction between DNA and nanoceria, and then affect the oxidase mimetic activity of nanoceria. Hence, it is important to clarify the factors that affect the interaction between DNA with nanoceria. In this work, the interactions between DNA and nanoceria with three different morphologies (nanoparticles, nanocubes, and nanorods) have been investigated. Experimental results show that DNA has different influences on the oxidase mimetic activity of nanoceria with different morphologies. The oxidase mimetic activity of CeO₂ nanoparticles and nanocubes increased, but that of CeO₂ nanorods decreased, after DNA modification. The mechanism of these experimental results has been explored, and it has been found that it is the interaction between cerium and the phosphate backbone of DNA that changes with the different morphologies, resulting in the varying effect of DNA on the oxidase mimetic activity of nanoceria. These results may provide a better understanding of the effect of DNA on the oxidase mimetic activity of nanoceria and promote the applications of nanoceria.