Determination of lysophosphatidylcholine using peroxidase-mimic PVP/PtRu nanozyme

Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) can be used as a biomarker for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and sepsis. In this study, we demonstrated the ability of nanozymes to displace the natural derived enzyme in enzyme-based assays for the measurement of LPC. Synthesized polyvinylpyrrolidone-stabilized platinum–ruthenium nanozymes (PVP/PtRu NZs) had a uniform size of 2.48 ± 0.24 nm and superb peroxidase-mimicking activity. We demonstrated that the nanozymes had high activity over a wide pH and temperature range and high stability after long-term storage. The LPC concentration could be accurately analyzed through the absorbance and fluorescence signals generated by the peroxidation reaction using the synthesized nanozyme with substrates such as 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and 10-acetyl-3,7-dihydroxyphenoxazine (Ampliflu™ Red). LPC at a concentration of 0–400 µM was used for the analysis, and the coefficient of determination ( R 2 ) was 0.977, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 23.1 µM by colorimetric assay. In the fluorometric assay, the R 2 was 0.999, and the LOD was 8.97 µM. The spiked recovery values for the determination of LPC concentration in human serum samples were 102–115%. Based on these results, we declared that PVP/PtRu NZs had an ability comparable to that of the native enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in the enzyme-based LPC detection method. Graphical Abstract