HMN 2025: How Low-coordination Mn single-atom nanozymes allow imaging-guided cancer remedy

A analysis crew led by Prof. Wang Hui from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with researchers led by Prof. Qian Junchao from HFIPS and Prof. Qu Songnan from the University of Macau, has efficiently developed a novel low-coordination single-atom manganese nanozyme utilizing a novel “molecular carbonization-reduction” technique.

The work, aided by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements on the Steady-State Strong Magnetic Field Facility (SHMFF), has been published in Advanced Science.

Traditional metal-nitrogen (M-N_x) single-atom catalysts are usually present in steady M-N₄ configurations. However, these constructions have restricted energetic websites and have a tendency to lose intermediates throughout catalytic processes on account of weak substrate binding, which hampers general catalytic efficiency.

To tackle this, the researchers developed a brand new technique that fastidiously selects molecular ligands to chelate with manganese atoms, creating single-atom manganese-doped carbon dots (SA Mn-CDs) with a low-coordinated Mn-N₂ configuration.

These ultrasmall SA Mn-CDs function atomically dispersed manganese facilities, glorious water solubility, and powerful biocompatibility. More importantly, they show excessive peroxidase-like catalytic exercise by successfully mediating Fenton-like reactions, a efficiency confirmed by way of superior EPR evaluation.

The materials additionally reveals outstanding near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging capabilities at each mobile and animal ranges, enabling exact, image-guided tumor catalytic remedy.

This study highlights the immense potential of low-coordination manganese-based nanozymes for NIR-guided cancer remedy and underscores the essential significance of atomic-scale structural design in advancing single-atom catalytic remedy for biomedical functions.