CunO/Au heterostructure dendrimer anchored on Cu foam as dual functional catalytic nanozyme for glucose sensing by enzyme mimic cascade reaction

Multifunctional catalytic performance plays a crucial role in bio-applications through the diversity and durability of artificial nanozymes. An effective synergy with sufficient accessible active sites and high specific surface area is a challenge for composite catalysts, especially to avoid uncontrollable aggregation and structural instability. Here, we fabricated a Cu n O/Au heterostructure dendrimer on copper foam (Cu n O/Au HD/CF) as dual functional catalytic nanozyme to achieve enzyme mimic cascade reactions for efficient colorimetric analysis. A highly porous CF skeleton–based CuO nanowire array (CuO NWA) with a large specific surface area supported an efficient load capacity to assemble sufficient Cu n O/Au HD by electrodeposition. The bimetallic Au-Cu nanozyme successfully achieved an oxidase-like and peroxidase-like cascade catalysis by a target-responsive sensing mechanism. Due to the confirmed catalytic performance of selectivity, anti-interference ability, and reproducibility, a Cu n O/Au HD/CF-based quantitative analytical method was developed for glucose detection with a wide linear range and considerable detection limit of 8.4 μM. The robust nonenzymatic catalytic strategy for colorimetric detection not only confirmed the dual functional catalytic activity of Cu n O/Au HD/CF, but also showed great potential for applications in clinical diagnostics and biochemical analysis. Graphical abstract