Nanozymes: next-generation artificial enzymes

Nanozymes are a new concept created by Chinese scientists and have been recorded in textbooks and encyclopedia. Prof. Erkang Wang pioneered to utilize nanozymes for analytical detection and then published a review entitled “Nanomaterials with enzyme-like characteristics (nanozymes): next-generation artificial enzymes”. These contributions not only expand the impact of nanozymes, but also facilitate the translational applications of nanozymes, leading to an interdisciplinary hot spot with emerging new materials, technologies and products of nanozymes. In this paper, the definition, classification and catalytic mechanism of nanozymes are introduced, and the recent progress of their application is summarized. The future research directions and development trends are also proposed.