A 2021 study reported that an engineered iron-based nanozyme was 12 times more efficient than horseradish peroxidase in a specific laboratory test using tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). That result was described as a record at the time—but it is not proof that the material remains the world’s best-performing artificial enzyme, nor does it show that it treats cancer in people.
What did the “12 times” result measure?
The comparison was about peroxidase activity in a TMB assay, with the nanozyme and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) tested under the same reaction conditions. Chemistry World reported the 12-fold result in 2021. It applies to that test—not to every substrate, reaction condition, or measure of enzyme activity.
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| Feature | Engineered nanozyme | Horseradish peroxidase |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An engineered iron-containing nanomaterial with an FeN3P-centred active-site structure | A natural enzyme from horseradish, used as the comparator |
| Reported TMB assay result | Reported as 12 times more efficient under the same reaction conditions | Comparator for the reported result; an absolute activity value is not stated in Chemistry World’s 2021 report |
The phrase “more efficient” should be read in the context of that reported assay. Nanozyme comparisons can change depending on the substrate and reaction conditions, and on how activity and catalyst concentration are calculated—for example, per active site, particle, or unit of mass. A 12-fold result in one setup is not a universal multiplier.
What is a nanozyme, and how was this one made?
A nanozyme is a nanomaterial that mimics some catalytic activity of an enzyme. This material was not horseradish peroxidase altered in a laboratory: the team built an artificial catalyst intended to reproduce aspects of an enzyme’s metal-centred active site.
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Engineering the active site
The researchers started with a carbon-and-nitrogen zeolite framework, added iron and phosphorus, and used pyrolysis to produce a powder. The study reported that iron, nitrogen, and phosphorus atoms were distributed in clusters through the carbon lattice. Its central design idea was to tune the local coordination environment around iron, which can affect catalytic performance.
Research-team member Dingsheng Wang said the catalytic performance could be modulated through “local structure control of active sites and their coordination environment.” The point is broader than the headline comparison: changing the arrangement of atoms around a catalytic site may be a way to tune how a nanozyme works.
Does the 2021 study establish a record today?
No current, global record follows from the reported result. Chemistry World described the finding as a record in 2021, but later nanozyme work uses different materials and activity measures. Without directly comparable assays and a shared basis for calculating activity, the 12-fold figure cannot establish that this specific material still ranks first.
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What happened in the mouse tumour experiment?
The team also tested the nanozyme in living mice. In the reported experiment, tumours injected with the material were less than half the size of tumours in untreated control mice after 14 days. The report said no toxic effects were observed in that experiment.
Those findings are preclinical animal results. They do not establish that the material is effective or safe in people, and they do not demonstrate a human cancer treatment.
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Was it tested in humans or approved as a treatment?
The 2021 study and reporting support laboratory and mouse findings. The available evidence does not establish human testing, regulatory approval, a marketed therapeutic or diagnostic product, or commercial availability of this specific FeN3P single-atom nanozyme. The mouse result should not be treated as a treatment option or a prediction of clinical benefit.
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