Nanozymes

Nanozymes are synthetic nanomaterials that exhibit enzyme-like catalytic activity—they accelerate specific chemical reactions under mild conditions, often with substrate selectivity reminiscent of natural enzymes. Unlike biological enzymes, they are not produced by living cells; they can be made from inorganic or hybrid materials (e.g. metal oxides, carbon-based nanostructures) via scalable chemical synthesis. They tend to be more stable under harsh pH, temperature, or storage conditions and can be cheaper to produce at scale. Catalytic activities reported include peroxidase-, oxidase-, catalase-, and superoxide-dismutase-like behaviour, with applications in detection, degradation of pollutants, and therapeutic modulation of reactive species.

The technology addresses limitations of enzymes in cost, stability, and manufacturability while retaining useful catalytic function. In diagnostics and biosensing, nanozymes can amplify signals or replace natural enzymes in assays. In therapeutics, they are being explored for scavenging reactive oxygen species (e.g. in neurodegeneration or ischaemia-reperfusion) or for generating cytotoxic species in tumours. In environmental applications, they can degrade organic pollutants or disinfect water. Clinical trials are underway in oncology and neurology; regulatory and safety characterisation are active areas.

Challenges include fine-tuning selectivity and activity to match or exceed enzymes, controlling biodistribution and clearance in medical use, and ensuring reproducible manufacturing. As understanding of structure–activity relationships improves, nanozymes could find broader use in medicine, environmental remediation, and industrial catalysis, complementing or substituting biological enzymes where robustness and cost matter.