Advances in the application of metal oxide nanozymes in tumor detection and treatment

Natural enzymes play an important role to support the regular life activities of the human body. However, the application conditions of natural enzymes are harsh and there are limitations in their use. As artificial enzymes, nanozymes possess the substrate specificity of natural enzymes. Due to the advantages of low cost, good stability and strong catalytic properties, nanozymes hold a wide range of applications in the fields of sensing, chemical, food and medicine. Some of the more common ones are noble metal nanozymes, metal oxide nanozymes and carbon-based nanozymes. Among them, metal oxide nanozymes have attracted much attention because of their decent fixity, exceedingly good physicochemical properties and other advantages. Today, malignant tumors pose a great danger to the human body and are a serious threat to human health. However, traditional treatments have more side effects, and finding new treatment modalities is particularly important for tumor treatment. For example, enzyme therapy can be used to catalyze reactions in the body to achieve tumor treatment. Nanozymes can exert enzymatic activity and effectively treat malignant tumors through catalysis and synergy, and have made certain progress. This paper reviews the detection and application of metal oxide nanozymes in tumor detection and treatment in recent years and provides an outlook on their future application and development.