Facile preparation of V2C@VOx nanosheets with excellent multi-enzyme activity and their colorimetric sensing application

Nanozymes, as artificial enzymes, overcome the low catalytic efficiency, poor stability, and cost-effectiveness of previous artificial enzymes. In this work, vanadium carbide@vanadium oxide (V2C@VOx) nanosheets were synthesized by a one-pot hydrothermal method using V2C as a precursor and H2O2 as an oxidant. The prepared V2C@VOx nanosheets exhibited excellent multi-enzyme activity such as peroxidase-like activity, superoxide dismutase-like activity, and oxidase-like activity. The entire synthetic process of V2C@VOx nanosheets does not need any additional intercalation agent, strong acid, or base. Meanwhile, the synthesized method of nanozymes was simple, time-saving, and environmentally friendly. In particular, based on the multi-enzyme activity of V2C@VOx nanosheets, the nanozymes catalyzed H2O2 and dissolved O2 to oxidize 3′,3,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). Additionally, glucose reacted with glucose oxidase (GOx) to form H2O2 under water bath conditions. Therefore, the colorimetric sensing strategy of glucose was constructed based on the multi-enzyme activity of V2C@VOx nanosheets and the enzymatic reaction of glucose. The detection limit of the sensor was as low as 0.08 μM. Furthermore, the colorimetric method was successfully used to detect glucose in human serum. The sensor exhibited low cost, high stability, and easy construction. Overall, this work proposed a promising strategy based on novel vanadium-based nanozymes with excellent multi-enzyme activity for biomedical detection.