Nanozymes: created by learning from nature

Nanozymes, a type of nanomaterials with enzyme-like activity, have shown great potential to replace natural enzymes in many fields such as biochemical detection, environmental management and disease treatment. However, the catalytic efficiency and substrate specificity of nanozymes still need improvement. To further optimize the enzymatic properties of nanozymes, recent studies have introduced the structural characteristics of natural enzymes into the rational design of nanozymes, either by employing small molecules to mimic the cofactors of natural enzymes to boost nanozymes’ catalytic potential, or by simulating the active center of natural enzymes to construct the nanostructure of nanozymes. This review introduces the commonly used bio-inspired strategies to create nanozymes, aiming at clarifying the current progress and bottlenecks. Advances and challenges focusing on the research of bio-inspired nanozymes are outlined to provide ideas for the de novo design of ideal nanozymes.