A Glucose-Powered Activatable Nanozyme Breaking pH and H O Limitations for Treating Diabetic Infections.

The peroxidase-like activity of nanozymes is promising for chemodynamic therapy by catalyzing H O into OH. However, for most nanozymes, this activity is optimal just in acidic solutions, while the pH of most physiological systems is beyond 7.0 (even >8.0 in chronic wounds) with inadequate H O . We herein communicate an activatable nanozyme with targeting capability to simultaneously break the local pH and H O limitations under physiological conditions. As a proof of concept, aptamer-functionalized nanozymes, glucose oxidase, and hyaluronic acid constitute an activatable nanocapsule "APGH", which can be activated by bacteria-secreted hyaluronidase in infected wounds. Nanozymes bind onto bacteria through aptamer recognition, and glucose oxidation tunes the local pH down and supplements H O for the in-situ generation of OH on bacteria surfaces. The activity switching and enhanced antibacterial effect of the nanocapsule were verified in vitro and in diabetic wounds. This strategy for directly regulating local microenvironment is generally accessible for nanozymes, and significant for facilitating biological applications of nanozymes.