Eco-friendly, degradable, peroxidase-mimicking nanozyme for selective antioxidant detection

Since the inception of nanozymes in 2007, an array of nanozyme varieties has been continuously developed. However, the predominant type of nanozyme faces significant challenges due to its complex fabrication process, less bio and eco-friendliness, non-biodegradability and lack of cost-effectiveness. This study introduces a novel eco-friendly and degradable, fully polymer and monomer-based nanozyme (PM nanozyme) which has intrinsic peroxidase-like activity. The PM nanozyme was fabricated by a chelation-based self-assembling particle generation process using selected polymers and monomers (polyvinyl alchol and acylamide) with metallic ions. It was found that PM nanozyme has certain iron-based active sites with favorable kinetic characteristics (H₂O₂/Km: 0.074 mM). PM nanozyme's degradability was tested and it was degraded at moderate temperature (46 °C, up to 24 h), highlighting its beneficial for further waste management. The use of PM nanozyme for selective antioxidant detection, such as ascorbic acid (with a limit of detection of at least 7.27 μM) was carried out and successful antioxidant detection in selected commercial beverages was achieved, proving their potential for broader applications in agriculture and food.