Superoxide dismutase mimetic ability of Mn-doped ZnS QDs

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is an important antioxidant enzyme in the body. SOD has special physiological activity and is the primary substance for scavenging free radicals in living organisms. However, the expensive and complex extraction processes, low SOD yield, as well as difficult to store at room temperature have seriously hindered its application pace. Herein, the enzyme mimetic function of Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) was discovered. The improved Marklund and McCord method both showed that Mn-doped ZnS QDs possess intrinsic SOD-like activity. The effects of temperature and pH on the mimetic enzyme activity of Mn-doped ZnS QDs have been investigated compared with SOD enzymes. The low cost and easy to synthesize white Mn-doped ZnS QDs with good biocompatibility are expected to be used as a new type of SOD nanozymes in the biology-relevant fields.