Nanomaterials with oxidase- and peroxidase-like activities have potential in antibacterial therapy. The optimal activity of most nanozymes occurred in acidic pH (3.0-5.0), while the pH in biological systems is mostly near neutral. Herein, a general system using 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-modified diphenylalanine (Fmoc-FF) hydrogel for enhancing oxidase- and peroxidase-like activities of Pt NPs and other typical enzyme-like nanomaterials at neutral or even alkaline pH is proposed. In this system, Fmoc-FF hydrogel provides an acidic microenvironment for Pt NPs due to hydrogen protons (H+ ) produced by the dissociation of F at neutral pH. As a result, Pt NPs exhibits 6-fold enhanced oxidase-like and 26-fold peroxidase-like activity after being encapsulated into Fmoc-FF hydrogel at pH 7.0. Based on outstanding enzymatic activities and the antibacterial activity of Fmoc-FF hydrogel itself, Pt-Fmoc-FF hydrogel realizes excellent antibacterial effect. This design provides a universal strategy to break pH limitation of nanozymes and promotes the biological applications of nanozymes.
Keywords: neutral environment; oxidase-like; peptide-based hydrogel; peroxidase-like; synergistic antibacterial.
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