Supramolecular nanozymes based on peptide self-assembly for biomimetic catalysis

In diverse natural enzyme systems, their elegant properties and functions appeal to great interest not only in unraveling the natural profound mystery but also in engineering the advanced materials for the green-life technology. However, the naturally occurring enzymes suffer from the inherent instability and complexity, hoping for the development of biomimetic catalysis alternatives to the natural ones. In terms of this purpose, supramolecular nanozymes have been developed through the self-assembly strategy associated with multiple non-covalent interactions. Peptides, as a functional motif of natural proteins, may serve as versatile and promising building blocks for designing and engineering biomimetic nanozymes. Importantly, the clear mechanism of structural modulation in peptide-based nanozymes, and their unique properties (e.g. selectivity, auto-catalysis, etc.) as the elemental biological module in living systems may provide the further possibility of regulating catalytic performance. Thus, this review highlights areas of research at the peptide-based supramolecular nanozymes, including peptide-based assembling building blocks, precisely functional regulation through supramolecular non-covalent interactions, catalytic reactions, and energy conversion mechanisms. These previous researches could inspire us to construct a novel supramolecular nanozyme with high catalytic selectivity and efficiency in various applications.