Fig. 5

Illustration of catalytic reactions and antibacterial mechanisms of nanoclusters with peroxidase- or oxidase-like enzyme activities. (a) Nanozymes exhibiting peroxidase-like activity facilitate the reduction of H₂O₂, generating highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (·OH). (b) Nanozymes with oxidase-like activity catalyze the conversion of O₂ to singlet oxygen (¹O₂) or even single oxygen atoms. Both ·OH and ¹O₂ serve as potent oxidants, leading to the oxidation of the substrate (S) to ox-substrate (Sox), such as membrane lipids. (c) Nanozymes possessing peroxidase- or oxidase-like activity play a pivotal role in disrupting the membrane structure and degrading the biofilm matrix, thereby exerting antibacterial and antibiofilm effects. This process ultimately results in bacterial cell death. Reproduced with permission from ref [88]. Copyright 2022 MDPI