Plasmonic Nanozymes: Engineered Gold Nanoparticles Exhibit Tunable Plasmon-Enhanced Peroxidase-Mimicking Activity

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Biochemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Nanozymes (inorganic nanoparticles mimicking enzymes) offer advantages like robustness and durability over natural enzymes.
• Current nanozyme optimization relies heavily on empirical methods, lacking clear design principles for tuning activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate fine-tuning of nanozyme activity using plasmonic excitations.
• To establish a rational design principle for nanozyme activity based on light-matter interactions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized gold (Au) surface-roughened nanoparticles as model plasmonic nanozymes with peroxidase-mimicking activity.
• Applied visible and near-infrared light sources to induce plasmonic excitations.
• Investigated the relationship between plasmonic properties and catalytic activity.

Main Results:

• Successfully tuned the peroxidase-mimicking activity of Au nanozymes through plasmonic excitations.
• Established a correlation between plasmonic characteristics and nanozyme performance.
• Unraveled the hot electron-mediated mechanism underlying the light-controlled nanozyme activity.

Conclusions:

• Plasmonic excitations offer a viable strategy for rational design and activity tuning of nanozymes.
• The findings provide a mechanistic understanding of light-responsive plasmonic nanozymes.
• This work paves the way for advanced applications of tunable artificial enzymes.