Visual detection of cancer cells by using in situ grown functional CuSe/reduced graphene oxide hybrids acting as an efficient nanozyme.

A simple protocol for in situ growth of CuSe nanoparticles on graphene oxide hybrids (CuSe/rGO) acting as an efficient nanozyme is developed and thus a sensitive visual detection method of cancer cells is proposed. The CuSe/rGO heterogeneous nanomaterials have been proven to exhibit high peroxidase-like activity to catalyze the reaction of the peroxidase substrate in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Herein, we used CuSe/rGO as a signal transducer to develop a colorimetric assay for the direct detection of cancer cells and a total of 63 cancer cells (MCF-7) can be distinguished by naked-eye observation. The results showed that the CuSe/rGO hybrids could be the promising nanozyme mimetics for potential applications in bioanalytical fields.