Single-Atom Catalysts in Catalytic Biomedicine

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology and Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Catalysis

Background:

• Nanoparticle catalysts face limitations in biological settings, necessitating advanced alternatives.
• Achieving optimal catalytic performance and selectivity in vivo remains a significant challenge.
• Single-atom catalysts (SACs) present a promising solution due to their unique atomic structure and enhanced properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of the significance of single-atom catalysts (SACs) in biomedicine.
• To discuss critical issues, fabrication strategies, and characterization of SACs.
• To explore the application of SACs in diverse biomedical fields and elucidate structure-performance relationships.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on SACs for biomedical applications.
• Discussion of fabrication techniques, surface engineering, and structural characterization methods for SACs.
• Analysis of catalytic mechanisms and structure-performance relationships in representative biomedical applications.

Main Results:

• SACs exhibit superior catalytic activity and selectivity compared to traditional nanoparticle catalysts.
• Successful applications of SACs demonstrated in cancer therapy, wound disinfection, biosensing, and cytoprotection.
• Understanding intrinsic catalytic mechanisms is crucial for optimizing SAC performance.

Conclusions:

• SACs are a versatile platform for advanced theranostic modalities in biomedicine.
• Further research is needed to overcome challenges in fabrication, stability, and in vivo translation.
• Optimizing SAC design based on structure-performance relationships will unlock their full therapeutic potential.