Peroxidase-like activity of magnetoferritin

Magnetoferritin is a spherical biomacromolecule with a diameter of about 12 nm. It consists of a protein shell composed of apoferritin that is surrounding magnetic nanoparticles of magnetite (Fe3O4) or maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3). Magnetoferritins with various iron content (loading factor) were synthetically prepared and their peroxidase-like activities studied via the oxidation of the chromogenic substrate N,N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine sulfate by hydrogen peroxide to give a purple product with an absorption maximum at 551 nm. Magnetoferritin with higher loading factor exhibits a higher peroxidase-like activity. The catalytic activity was successfully applied to the determination of hydrogen peroxide in the 5.8 to 88.2 mM concentration range.