Issue 32, 2023

DNA-modulated single-atom nanozymes with enhanced enzyme-like activity for ultrasensitive detection of dopamine

Abstract

Despite the current progress in optimizing and tailoring the performance of nanozymes through structural and synthetic adaptation, there is still a lack of dynamic modulation approaches to alter their catalytic activity. Here, we demonstrate that DNA can act as an auxiliary regulator via a straightforward incubation method with Fe–N–C single-atom nanozymes (SAzymes), causing a leap in the enzyme-like activity of Fe–N–C from moderate to a higher level. The DNA-assisted enhancement is attributed to the increased substrate affinity of Fe–N–C nanozymes through electrostatic attraction between the substrate and DNA. Based on the prepared DNA/Fe–N–C system, colorimetric sensors for dopamine (DA) detection were constructed. Surprisingly, the incorporation of DNA not only enabled the detection of DA in a low concentration range, but also greatly improved the sensitivity with a 436-fold decrease in detection limit. The quantitative determination of DA was achieved in two-segment linear ranges of 0.01–4 μM and 5–100 μM with an ultralow detection limit of 9.56 nM. The DNA/Fe–N–C system shows superior performance compared to the original Fe–N–C system, making it an ideal choice for nanozyme-based biosensors. This simple design approach has paved the way for enhancing nanozyme activity and is expected to serve as a general strategy for optimizing biosensor performance.

Graphical abstract: DNA-modulated single-atom nanozymes with enhanced enzyme-like activity for ultrasensitive detection of dopamine

  • This article is part of the themed collection: Nanozymes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Apr. 2023
Accepted
12 Jūl. 2023
First published
12 Jūl. 2023

Nanoscale, 2023,15, 13289-13296

DNA-modulated single-atom nanozymes with enhanced enzyme-like activity for ultrasensitive detection of dopamine

Z. Wu, W. Liu, H. Lu, H. Zhang, Z. Hao, F. Zhang, R. Zhang, X. Li and L. Zhang, Nanoscale, 2023, 15, 13289 DOI: 10.1039/D3NR01737K

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