New class of nanozymes with improved catalytic performance
Recent advances in nanotechnology have opened up a variety of applications in biotechnology and healthcare. Progress in the biocatalysis field relies on developing nanozymes – artificial enzymes with highly effective enzyme-like properties – with better catalytic performance. The challenge is to enhance enzymatic robustness and stability while retaining inherent aspects of enzymes such as high specificity and low toxicity. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the NESTOR project plans to synthesise single-atom nanozymes based on versatile iron-oxide materials. Theoretical modelling should allow scientists to investigate the microscopic mechanisms of the enzyme-like active sites. Ultimately, the project will assess the toxicological impact of the newly synthesised nanozymes.
Objective
Recent advances in nanotechnology have already provided excellent platforms to reshape many areas of biocatalysis and healthcare, and yet many challenges are still being faced to produce artificial nanozymes with better catalytic efficiency. Pending achievements include having enhanced enzymatic robustness and stability while keeping the key aspects of natural enzymes such as high specificity, low toxicity and bioavailability. Consequently, there is currently a real demand for better-designed nanozymes capable to solve these challenges for the different industrial and health requirements. NESTOR project aims to develop atomically-designed nanozymes based on versatile iron-oxide-based materials, to assess their true toxicological impact and to theoretically model the microscopic mechanisms of their enzymatic-like reactions (e.g. catalase-like, peroxidase-like, etc.) and to achieve a product-oriented enzymatic activity with minimum toxicological impact, a highly relevant societal concern. The outcomes from NESTOR project are expected to provide a better control of enzymatic reactions inside living entities together with the additional properties from the new materials such as magnetic actuability, imaging or heating. These research goals are embedded in the motivation of establishing a dynamic network with NESTOR, aimed to train the next generation of materials scientists, theoretical physicists, chemists, toxicologists and medical doctors in a highly interdisciplinary research environment so they can benchmark upcoming challenges concerning the new biomedical and environmental challenges to come. This next generation of open-minded scientists with true knowledge of multidisciplinary work will be an essential actor in the complex interactions between nanotechnologies and society that lay ahead.
Grant agreement ID: 101007629
DOI 10.3030/101007629
EC signature date 20 November 2020
Start date 1 October 2021
End date 31 March 2026
Funded under EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
EU contribution € 837 200,00
Coordinated by UNIVERSIDAD DE ZARAGOZA (Spain)
Participated by Morales Herrero, María del Puerto (ICMM-CSIC)
