Metallothionein-Inspired Asymmetric Heteroatom Doping of Single-Atom Nanozymes for Multi-Enzyme Biocatalysis.

ABSTRACT: Single-atom catalysts (SACs) exhibit enzyme-mimicking activity but are often limited by single-enzyme-like functions and modest catalytic efficiency. Here, a metallothionein-inspired heteroatom doping strategy is reported to construct asymmetric Fe single-atom catalysts (FeN₃S). Fe³⁺ is coordinated with cysteine via strong mercaptide bond formation, followed by zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) biomineralization and pyrolysis. The FeN₃S catalyst displays markedly enhanced multi-enzyme activities-including NADH oxidase-, oxidase-, peroxidase-, and catalase-like activities-with 1.35-4.60-fold improvements compared to sulfur (S)-free analogues. This high multi-enzyme efficiency arises from i) atomically dispersed Fe from biomineralization; ii) the large

SUBMITTER: Chen K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12850297 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature