title: Intrinsic peroxidase-like activity of ferromagnetic nanoparticles.
abstract: Nanoparticles containing magnetic materials, such as magnetite (Fe3O4), are particularly useful for imaging and separation techniques. As these nanoparticles are generally considered to be biologically and chemically inert, they are typically coated with metal catalysts, antibodies or enzymes to increase their functionality as separation agents. Here, we report that magnetite nanoparticles in fact possess an intrinsic enzyme mimetic activity similar to that found in natural peroxidases, which are widely used to oxidize organic substrates in the treatment of wastewater or as detection tools. Based on this finding, we have developed a novel immunoassay in which antibody-modified magnetite nanoparticles provide three functions: capture, separation and detection. The stability, ease of production and versatility of these nanoparticles makes them a powerful tool for a wide range of potential applications in medicine, biotechnology and environmental chemistry.
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Lizeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: Leng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.forename: Jinbin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Taihong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Dongling
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perrett
authors.forename: Xiyun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D052203:Ferrosoferric Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D009195:Peroxidase; D052203:Ferrosoferric Oxide