Nanocomposite of Peroxidase-Like Cucurbit[6]uril with Enzyme-Encapsulated ZIF-8 and Application for Colorimetric Biosensing

In this work, cucurbiturils (CBs), a class of macrocyclic supramolecules, were observed to have an interesting peroxidase-like activity, which is metal-free, substrate-specific, thermophilic, acidophilic, and insensitive to ionic strength. By coating CBs on enzyme-encapsulated zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8), a composite nanozyme was constructed, which retains the catalytic ability of CBs and enzymes and makes them cascade. On addition of the substrate, i.e., the detection target, a highly efficient cascade catalysis can be launched in all the spatial directions to generate sensitive and visible signals. Convenient detection of glucose and cholesterol as models is thereby achieved. More importantly, we have also successfully constructed a composite nanozyme-based sensor array (6 × 8 wells) and thereby achieved simultaneous colorimetric analysis of multiple samples. The concept and successful practice of the construction of the unique core-shell supramolecule/biomolecule@nanomaterial architecture provide the possibility to fabricate next-generation multifunctional materials and create new applications by integrating their unique functions.