Cobalt-ellagic acid coordination network: an efficient candidate for mimicking multicopper laccase and phenoxazinone synthase enzymes

Abstract

Renewable plant-based polyphenols are an important class of phytochemicals that possess properties such as antioxidant, anti inflammation, antimicrobial, and antiobesity. Owing to the application associated with plant-based polyphenols, cost-effectiveness, nontoxicity, natural abundance, and functional groups that can initiate various covalent and non-covalent interactions of these polyphenols have attracted tremendous attention to use them as building blocks for manufacturing functional materials. Herein, we report the facile synthetic strategy to engineer the functional material via the coordination between ellagic acid (EA) with Co2+ ions to synthesize sustainable homogeneous cross-like assemblies of the size ~1 µm resembling the West Indian Jasmine flower (Ixora coccinea). The redox nature of Co(II) centers and the electron mediating property of EA enable the Co-EA metal-polyphenol network (Co-EA MPN) to exploit them as a nanozyme to mimic the activity of natural enzymes.