Antioxidant and Prooxidant Nanozymes: From Cellular Redox Regulation to Next-Generation Therapeutics

Nanozymes, nanomaterials with enzyme-mimicking activity, have attracted tremendous interest in recent years owing to their ability to replace natural enzymes in various biomedical applications, such as biosensing, therapeutics, drug delivery, and bioimaging. In particular, the nanozymes capable of regulating the cellular redox status by mimicking the antioxidant enzymes in mammalian cells are of great therapeutic significance in oxidative-stress-mediated disorders. As the distinction of physiological oxidative stress (oxidative eustress) and pathological oxidative stress (oxidative distress) occurs at a fine borderline, it is a great challenge to design nanozymes that can differentially sense the two extremes in cells, tissues and organs and mediate appropriate redox chemical reactions. In this Review, we summarize the advances in the development of redox-active nanozymes and their biomedical applications. We primarily highlight the therapeutic significance of the antioxidant and prooxidant nanozymes in various disease model systems, such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular diseases. The future perspectives of this emerging area of research and the challenges associated with the biomedical applications of nanozymes are described.     

Analysis of antioxidants using a capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection system

We developed a capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection system using 2-methyl-6-p-methoxyphenylethynylimidazopyrazinone as a chemiluminescence reagent for determination of antioxidants of superoxide anions. 2-Methyl-6-p-methoxyphenylethynylimidazopyrazinone reacted with superoxide anions generated through the reaction of hypoxanthine and xanthine oxidase, and then emitted chemiluminescence. Suppression of the chemiluminescence in the presence of antioxidants for superoxide anions was introduced as a detection principle for antioxidants into the capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection system. After optimizing the analytical conditions, various antioxidants, such as superoxide dismutase, nitroblue tetrazolium, ascorbic acid, and catechin, were subjected to the present system. They gave negative peaks due to the quenching effect; the detection limits of superoxide dismutase, nitroblue tetrazolium, ascorbic acid, and catechin were 1, 100, 100, and 10 μM, respectively (S/N = 2). A model sample consisting of superoxide dismutase and nitroblue tetrazolium was satisfactorily separated and detected within ca. 10 min. We also applied the present system to analysis of catechin in green tea as a real sample.     

Studies on Free Radical EPR,Superoxide Dismutase Water-soluble Lipidperoxide in Tears

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A model for interfacial electron transfer on colloidal melanin

Though melanins are involved in photochemical reactions (mainly of oxido-reductive type) in vitro and this activity is supposed to have biological implications, no satisfactory model of the reaction kinetics has so far been proposed. The main difficulty arises from the particulate structure of the insoluble melanins and the consequent necessity to describe their reactivity in the framework of heterogeneous chemistry, i.e., at the solid-liquid interface. Our paper presents a simplified model of the monoelectronic reduction reaction of dioxygen, based on well-established experimental facts and some reasonable assumptions: (1) surface adsorption of O₂ on colloidal melanins can be described by a Langmuir isotherm; (2) the kinetics of superoxide formation is photodependent and includes an interfacial electron-transfer process; (3) the photochemical behaviour of the single melanin granule can be described in terms of the electronic properties of amorphous semiconductor particles. Some satisfactory comparisons with experimental data and calculated values of the kinetic constants for the process are presented and discussed.     

In situ FTIR study of oxygen adsorption on nanostructured RuO2 thin-film electrode

In situ Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to study interactions of nanostructured ruthenium oxide (RuO₂) thin-film sensing electrode with O₂ at room temperature. RuO₂ nanostructures were pretreated at 1,000 °C for 1 h in order to obtain good crystallinity of amorphous RuO₂ nanoparticles. Morphology and properties of nanostructured RuO₂ were characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermo-gravimetric/differential thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and FTIR. It was shown that pretreated RuO₂ is quite active for O₂ ⁻, O₂ ²⁻, and O²⁻ adsorption with clear 722 cm⁻¹ band for superoxide ions (O₂ ⁻) adsorption for the different oxygen concentrations. The results of in situ FTIR measurements revealed that the active sites for oxygen adsorption are not limited to the triple boundaries, but extended to surfaces of RuO₂ electrodes. Fundamental vibration frequencies of ruthenium–oxygen bond at a temperature of 23 °C as well as region above fundamental frequencies for the nanostructured RuO₂ were identified.     

检测活性氧的荧光探针新进展

活性氧对于人体是十分重要的。然而,过量的活性氧是相当有害的,它们会对人体产生氧化损伤,导致细胞死亡。活性氧现在已经引起了化学、生物、医药等多个领域学者的浓厚兴趣,它们被认为和多种病理条件有密切的联系。由于活性氧寿命短、反应活性高,并且大部分都存在于体内很难被捕获,因此它们的分析测定是一项国际性难题。荧光探针作为活性氧的高灵敏的检测分析物,已经得到越来越广泛和深入的研究。由于每一种活性氧都有它独特的生理学活性,因此设计高选择性的,能够检测具体一种活性氧的荧光探针分子就显得十分重要。本文主要对近三年来检测单线态氧、过氧化氢、超氧阴离子和羟自由基这四种活性氧的荧光探针的研究进展进行综述,关注这类荧光探针的检测机理以及具体应用。     

分光光度法研究芦丁-铜配合物及其自由基清除活性

芦丁是天然多羟基黄酮苷 ,具有广泛的药理作用。分光光度法研究了芦丁与金属铜离子的配位性能 ,在 KH2 PO4- Na OH(p H=7.38)缓冲溶液中 ,芦丁与 Cu( Ⅱ )能形成 1∶ 1的配合物 ,并具有良好清除自由基活性。     

超临界流体CO2萃取中药有效成分的抗氧化性的分光光度法研究

利用超临界流体二氧化碳萃取技术提取中药虎杖、大黄、炒白术中黄酮类化合物。在pH8．2的HCl—tris缓冲溶液中利用邻苯三酚自氧化法测定提取物对超氧阴离子自由基的消除作用。用茜素紫作显色剂的分光光度法在pH9．0的HCl—tris缓冲体系中测定中药提取物对Co^2 H2O2体系所产生的羟基自由基的消除作用,并对实验条件进行了探讨。实验结果表明,3种中药提取物对自由基都有消除作用,其中虎杖的效果最好。     

荧光猝灭法测定超氧阴离子自由基的研究

合成了一种新的荧光探针试剂香草醛缩苯胺,利用元素分析、红外光谱等手段对探针试剂进行结构表征;结合邻苯三酚的自氧化作用,建立了一种荧光法测定超氧阴离子自由基(O_2~(-·))的新方法.该方法具有操作简单、灵敏度高和选择性好等特点.邻苯三酚线性范围为4.0×10~(-6)～1.0×10~(-5) mol·~(-1).检出限为2.0×10~(-7) mol·~(-1).方法用于大蒜等样品中超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性检测,结果满意.