Adenosine triphosphatase synergetic cobalt metal-organic frameworks with enhanced peroxidase-like activity for L-cystine detection

Schematic diagram showing that ATP can enhance the peroxidase-like activity of Co-MOFs, while, ADP, AMP and triphosphate could not enhance the peroxidase-like activity of Co-MOFs. The schematic diagram of ATP/MOFs catalytic system used for L-cysteine detection. [Display omitted] •Developed a simple and effective method to enhance the stability of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in catalysis.•ATP significantly improved the catalytic activity and efficiency of Co-MOFs across a broad range of temperatures and pH levels.•The Co-MOF/ATP peroxidase-like system enabled a colorimetric detection method for selective L-cysteine detection, achieving a limit of detection of 76.2 nM. The role of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) in the field of enzyme-like materials is significant, and they have been successfully applied to various peroxidase-like studies involving catalytic oxidation of the substrate 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). However, the limited chemical stability of MOFs in aqueous environments hampers their catalytic applications. To address this inherent drawback and enhance the peroxidase-like activity of MOFs, a method involving adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bonding was proposed. In this study, collaborative materials comprising cobalt MOFs (Co-MOFs) and ATP were utilized as model catalysts for TMB catalysis. The presence of ATP significantly improved the catalytic capability of Co-MOFs over a pH range from 3 to 9 and temperatures ranging from 25 to 60 °C. Notably, at pH 7 and 60 °C, the catalytic efficiency increased by approximately 100 times and an impressive enhancement rate of up to 4600% was achieved respectively. This peroxidase-like catalytic system offers a colorimetric detection assay that selectively detects L-cysteine with a limit of detection as low as 76.2 nM. Incorporating ATP into Co-MOFs presents a novel approach for utilizing MOFs in catalysis that is convenient, straightforward, and gentle.