Single-atom nanozymes (SAzymes) are emerging natural enzyme mimics and have attracted much attention in the biomedical field. SAzymes with Metal─Nx sites designed on carbon matrixes are currently the mainstream in research. It is of great significance to further expand the types of SAzymes to enrich the nanozyme library. Single-atom alloys (SAAs) are a material in which single-atom metal sites are dispersed onto another active metal matrix, and currently, there is limited research on their enzyme-like catalytic performance. In this work, a biodegradable Pt1 Pd SAA is fabricated via a simple galvanic replacement strategy, and for the first time reveals its intrinsic enzyme-like catalytic performance including catalase-, oxidase-, and peroxidase-like activities, as well as its photodynamic effect. Experimental characterizations demonstrate that the introduction of single-atom Pt sites contributes to enhancing the affinity of Pt1 Pd single-atom alloy nanozyme (SAAzyme) toward substrates, thus exhibiting boosted catalytic efficiency. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that Pt1 Pd SAAzyme exhibits a photo-controlled therapeutic effect, with a tumor inhibition rate of up to 100%. This work provides vital guidance for opening the research direction of SAAs in enzyme-like catalysis.
Keywords: enzyme-like activity; phototherapy; single-atom alloy nanozyme; tumor therapy.
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