Copper Nanoclusters as Multienzymes Mimic Activities of Oxidase and Ascorbic Acid Oxidase in the Presence of Imidazole

Artificial nanoenzymes based on metal nanoclusters have received great attention for multienzyme activities nowadays. In this work, pepsin-capped copper NCs (Cu-Pep NCs) are used as oxidase, ascorbic acid oxidase (AAO), and peroxidase mimics, and their activities are enhanced by the introduction of imidazole. The oxidase activity increased almost 7.5-fold, while 5-fold and 2-fold increases were observed for the peroxidase and AAO-like activity, respectively. The enhanced radical formation in the presence of imidazole moieties facilitates the enzymatic activity of the Cu-Pep-NCs/Imid system. This work describes the different enzymatic activities of the NCs, paving a new way for artificial nanoenzymes having enhanced activities.