Ferroxidase-like and antibacterial activity of PtCu alloy nanoparticles.

Many metal nanoparticles are reported to have intrinsic enzyme-like activities and offer great potential in chemical and biomedical applications. In this study, PtCu alloy nanoparticles (NPs), synthesized through hydrothermal treatment of Cu and Pt in an aqueous solution, were evaluated for ferroxidase-like and antibacterial activity. Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy and colorimetric methods were used to demonstrate that PtCu NPs exhibited strong ferroxidase-like activity in a weakly acidic environment and that this activity was not affected by the presence of most other ions, except silver. Based on the color reaction of salicylic acid in the presence of Fe, we tested the ferroxidase-like activity of PtCu NPs to specifically detect Fe in a solution of an oral iron supplement and compared these results with data acquired from atomic absorption spectroscopy and the phenanthroline colorimetric method. The results showed that the newly developed PtCu NPs detection method was equivalent to or better than the other two methods used for Fe detection. The antibacterial experiments showed that PtCu NPs have strong antibacterial activity against and . Herein, we demonstrate that the peroxidase-like activity of PtCu NPs can catalyze HO and generate hydroxyl radicals, which may elucidate the antibacterial activity of the PtCu NPs against and These results showed that PtCu NPs exhibited both ferroxidase- and peroxidase-like activity and that they may serve as convenient and efficient NPs for the detection of Fe and for antibacterial applications.