Zhu Sai, Liu Zhengbiao, Hu Bo, Feng Yonghai, Pan Guoqing
Institute for Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.
Department of Orthopedics, Suzhou Industrial Park Xinghu Hospital, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China.
Research (Wash D C). 2025 May 28;8:0710. doi: 10.34133/research.0710. eCollection 2025.
Nitrite reductases (NiRs) are natural enzymes that facilitate the reduction of nitrite. They are essential for the microbial nitrogen cycle and play a vital role in regulating numerous physiological and pathological processes associated with nitric oxide (NO) in living organisms. By the merits of protein engineering, a variety of artificial NiR mimics have been developed. These include traditional artificial proteins, metal-azacycle complexes, and nanozymes such as metal, metal oxide/sulfide nanoparticles, metal-organic frameworks, bioinorganic nanohybrids, and advanced single-atom nanozymes. This development marks an important milestone in broadening the application of enzyme-like catalytic nitrite reduction across various fields, such as biomedicine, biosensing, food science, and environmental science. In this review, we first outline the different types of NiRs, along with their active center structures and catalytic mechanisms, drawing from recent research and discoveries. We then classify the reported NiR mimic materials, discussing their active center structures and enzyme-like catalytic mechanisms. Additionally, we explore the potential future applications and challenges facing NiR mimics in the field of biomedicine.
亚硝酸还原酶（NiRs）是促进亚硝酸盐还原的天然酶。它们对微生物氮循环至关重要，在调节生物体中与一氧化氮（NO）相关的众多生理和病理过程中发挥着关键作用。借助蛋白质工程的优势，已开发出多种人工NiR模拟物。这些包括传统人工蛋白、金属氮杂环配合物以及纳米酶，如金属、金属氧化物/硫化物纳米颗粒、金属有机框架、生物无机纳米杂化物和先进的单原子纳米酶。这一进展标志着在拓宽类酶催化亚硝酸盐还原在生物医学、生物传感、食品科学和环境科学等各个领域的应用方面迈出了重要的里程碑。在本综述中，我们首先根据最近的研究和发现概述不同类型的NiRs及其活性中心结构和催化机制。然后，我们对已报道的NiR模拟材料进行分类，讨论它们的活性中心结构和类酶催化机制。此外，我们还探讨了NiR模拟物在生物医学领域潜在的未来应用和面临的挑战。
