Vacancy-Engineered Nanoceria: Enzyme Mimetic Hotspots for the Degradation of Nerve Agents

Organophosphorus‐based nerve agents, such as paraoxon, parathion, and malathion, inhibit acetylcholinesterase, which results in paralysis, respiratory failure, and death. Bacteria are known to use the enzyme phosphotriesterase (PTE) to break down these compounds. In this work, we designed vacancy‐en...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2016-01, Vol.55 (4), p.1412-1416
Main Authors: Vernekar, Amit A., Das, Tandrila, Mugesh, Govindasamy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetylcholinesterase
Bacteria
Biodegradation
Biodegradation, Environmental
Biological & chemical weapons
Catalysis
Cerium - chemistry
Degradation
enzyme models
Enzymes
Enzymes - metabolism
heterogeneous catalysis
Malathion
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
Molecular Mimicry
Nanomaterials
nanozymes
Nerve agents
Nerve Agents - metabolism
Organophosphorus Compounds - metabolism
Paralysis
Paraoxon
Parathion
Phosphotriesterase
Product inhibition
Respiratory failure
Vacancies
X-Ray Diffraction
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Summary:Organophosphorus‐based nerve agents, such as paraoxon, parathion, and malathion, inhibit acetylcholinesterase, which results in paralysis, respiratory failure, and death. Bacteria are known to use the enzyme phosphotriesterase (PTE) to break down these compounds. In this work, we designed vacancy‐engineered nanoceria (VE CeO2 NPs) as PTE mimetic hotspots for the rapid degradation of nerve agents. We observed that the hydrolytic effect of the nanomaterial is due to the synergistic activity between both Ce3+ and Ce4+ ions located in the active site‐like hotspots. Furthermore, the catalysis by nanoceria overcomes the product inhibition generally observed for PTE and small molecule‐based PTE mimetics. Catalytic hotspots: Vacancy‐engineered cerium dioxide nanoparticles provide potential enzyme mimetic hotspots for the rapid degradation of nerve agents. This study presents the first example of hydrolytic activity of a vacancy‐engineered nanomaterial, where the dual oxidation states of the metal ions play a crucial role.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.201510355