Hemoglobin-Promoted Growth of Polyhedral Gold Nanoparticles for the Detection of Glucose, H₂O₂, and Ascorbic Acid

Abstract

The construction of biomimetic nanozymes with efficient catalytic activities, low costs, and robust stability is fundamentally challenging but practically meaningful for biomedicine, immunoassays, catalysis, and environmental applications. Herein, we present a facile one-step strategy to fabricate a hemoglobin–gold nanoparticle (Hb–AuNP) catalytic system by using hemoglobin (Hb) as an efficient stabilizer and reducing agent. Remarkably, the Hb–AuNPs exhibit good dispersion and high catalytic stability under harsh conditions (temperature, pH, and storage time), which can ensure the long-term application properties of this catalytic system. Combining AuNPs with Hb for reactive oxygen species regulation resulted in 12-fold enhancements in catalytic activity compared with natural horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Further, the Hb–AuNPs exhibit a high glucose, H 2 O 2, and ascorbic acid sensing performance with an unprecedented combination of a low detection limit and a rapid speed. This colorimetric method based on Hb–AuNPs was also effectively used to measure the levels of glucose and ascorbic acid in real samples.The current work comes up with new ideas for making gold-based biomimetic nanozymes that are both highly effective and stable. It also has interesting potential uses in biosensors and biomimetic catalysis.