An amino acid-based supramolecular nanozyme by coordination self-assembly for cascade catalysis and enhanced chemodynamic therapy towards biomedical applications

The clinical translation of chemodynamic therapy has been highly obstructed by the insufficient intracellular H₂O₂ level in diseased tissues. Herein, we developed a supramolecular nanozyme through a facile one-step cooperative coordination self-assembly of an amphipathic amino acid and glucose oxidase (GOx) in the presence of Fe²⁺. The results demonstrated that the supramolecular nanozyme possessed cascade enzymatic activity (i.e., GOx and peroxidase), which could amplify the killing efficacy of hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) via self-supplying H₂O₂, finally achieving synergistic starvation-chemodynamic cancer therapy in vitro. Additionally, this cascade nanozyme also exhibited highly effective antibacterial activity on Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) without the need for additional H₂O₂. This work provided a promising strategy for the design and development of nanozymes for future biomedical applications. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.