Ce‐Doped Lignin‐Based Nanozyme with Heat‐Activated Hydrolase Activity

Nanozymes are powerful alternatives to natural enzymes, yet the sustainable design of hydrolase nanozymes using renewable ligands remains underexplored. Lignin, as an abundant aromatic biopolymer, offers a promising and green ligand for constructing sustainable nanozymes. In this work, a Ce-doped lignin-based hydrolase nanozyme (Ce-AL) is synthesized using Ce ions coordinated with aminated industrial lignin. The resulting Ce-N_x centered Ce-AL enable the hydrolysis of phosphate esters and even stable protein amide bonds. Notably, the hydrolase-like activity of Ce-AL at 100°C is 2.03 times that at 40°C, attributable to the thermally optimized Ce-N_x sites within the protective lignin scaffold. The Ce-AL effectively combats stubborn biofilms formed by Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria by selectively hydrolyzing key proteinaceous and nucleotide components of the extracellular polymeric substances and bacterial cell walls. This work highlights lignin as a renewable platform for designing advanced, stimuli-responsive nanozymes.