Ferritin-catalyzed synthesis of ferrihydrite nanoparticles with high mimetic peroxidase activity for biomolecule detection.

Natural enzymes are generally sophisticated structural proteins that catalyze biological reactions with high specificity and efficiency and thus offer great potential in various disciplines, but intrinsic proteinic features such as easy denaturation and digestion restrict their practical application. So far, many functional nanomaterials with robust structures have been advanced as enzyme-mimetic catalysts to replace natural enzymes, however, their synthesis processes are generally complicated and require harsh experimental conditions such as high temperature and pressure. Herein, we report the facile synthesis of nanoparticles with high peroxidase-like activity by enzymatic catalysis.