Total antioxidant capacity assessment and accurate quantification of ascorbic acid and glutathione utilizing the enhanced multi-mimetic of Cu-CeO₂ NPs decorated PCN-224

Abstract

The emergence of various nanozymes has revolutionized approaches to detecting total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in food and biological samples; however, the precise quantification of specific antioxidant species such as ascorbic acid (AA) and glutathione (GSH) continue to present significant challenges. Inspired by the functional characteristics of oxidoreductases, we have developed Cu-CeO₂ nanoparticles adorned PCN-224, which exhibit multiple mimetic behaviors, including oxidase (OXD), ascorbate oxidase (AAO), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)-like activities. This innovative PCN-224@Cu-CeO₂ is designed for the quantitative evaluation of TAC in food, pharmaceuticals, and biological samples. Simultaneously, it enables the accurate determination of AA and GSH levels with favorable selectivity. The integration of nanozymes onto metal-organic frameworks significantly enhances both stability and catalytic efficiency. Furthermore, utilizing the multi-mimetics activity of the same materials simplifies the biosensing processes for TAC and individual antioxidants in tablets, beverages, fruits, and cells, thereby considerably diminishing experimental intricacy. Our findings not only advance the development and applications of novel nanozymes with exceptional multi-mimetic properties but also tackle selectivity challenges associated with colorimetric detection platforms that rely on oxidase and peroxidase activities.