Single-atom Cu-N/O aerogel nanozymes with dual enzymatic activities for point-of-care detection of multiple neurotransmitters

초록

Single-atom nanozymes (SANs) offer groundbreaking opportunities in enzyme mimicry, yet their broad implementation has been hindered by complex synthesis methods involving extreme conditions. Here, we present a simple, ambient-temperature strategy for fabricating single-atom copper nanozymes embedded in nitrogen/ oxygen-functionalized aerogel matrices (Cu-SANs) via spontaneous chelation between copper ions and carbon dots. The resulting Cu-SANs exhibited unprecedented dual enzymatic activities, demonstrating peroxidase- and laccase-like catalytic efficiencies with similar to 60 and similar to 400-fold higher, respectively, compared to their natural counterparts. This extraordinary catalytic performance is attributed to the high-density single-atom Cu-N/O coordination sites within the aerogel framework. Leveraging these dual enzymatic capabilities, we developed paper-based microfluidic analytical devices for simultaneous on-site colorimetric detection of acetylcholine and epinephrine. The paper devices exhibited excellent selectivity, sensitivity, stability, and analytical reliability, validated by recovery tests using spiked biological sera samples, including human, rabbit, and bovine sera (>96% recovery, <5% coefficient of variation). This work establishes an efficient, scalable synthetic approach to multifunctional SANs, significantly advancing point-of-care diagnostics for neurotransmitter-related disorders.

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