Bioinspired synergy strategy based on the integration of nanozyme into a molecularly imprinted polymer for improved enzyme catalytic mimicry and selective biosensing

Nanozymes offer many advantages such as good stability and high catalytic activity, but their selectivity is lower than that of enzymes. This is because most of enzymes have a protein component (apoenzyme) for substrate affinity to enhance selectivity and a non-protein element (coenzyme) for catalytic activity to improve sensitivity. The synergy between molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and nanozymes can mimic natural enzymes, with MIP acting as the apoenzyme and nanozyme as the coenzyme. Despite researchers' attempts to associate MIPs with nanozymes, the full potential of this combination remains not well explored. This study addresses this gap by integrating Fe