A Nanozyme-Based Artificial Peroxisome Ameliorates Hyperuricemia and Ischemic Stroke

Artificial peroxisome has drawn a lot of attentions for its usefulness in fabricating protocell system and great potential in treating diseases. However, it is still a significant challenge to prepare a practicable artificial peroxisome to complement multiple and stable functions under physiological condition. Herein, a novel strategy is reported to design an artificial peroxisome using a nanozyme to accommodate multiple enzyme-like activities that mimics those enzymes in natural peroxisome. The enzymatic active sites are introduced into graphitized moieties on the shell of a hollow carbon nanozyme by doping iron and nitrogen to form Fe-N-4 coordination and atomic Fe cluster. With Fe clusters as reversible cofactors and Fe-N-4 as prosthetic group, the resulted carbon nanozyme exhibits stable and multiple peroxisomal-like activities, including catalase, uricase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and oxidase, which is referred as nanozyme-based artificial peroxisome (pero-nanozysome). This pero-nanozysome shows therapeutic effect for treating hyperuricemia and protecting neurons from free radicals generated during ischemic stroke by employing the tandem activities of uricase-catalase and superoxide-dismutase-catalase, respectively. This study indicates that the pero-nanozysome is a promising candidate to design artificial peroxisome performing in vivo functions.

Automated summary

This study presents a novel strategy to design an artificial peroxisome using a nanozyme with stable and multiple enzymatic activities, which shows promising therapeutic effects for treating hyperuricemia and protecting neurons during ischemic stroke. The nanozyme-based artificial peroxisome is considered a promising candidate for in vivo functions.