Designing copper-amino acid based BioMOFs for enzyme mimetic applications

Abstract

The use of natural biomolecules with multiple coordination sites can be a greener alternative to the synthetic ligands utilized to fabricate metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Conventional synthetic ligands suffer from tedious synthesis procedures and poor biocompatibility. Natural biomolecules such as amino acids, nucleobases, polyphenols, sugar, etc., however, are earth-abundant and eco-friendly. Such biomolecules, when complexed with suitable metal ions, can inherit/enhance their intrinsic medicinal/chemical properties. Amino acids can coordinate with different transition metal ions to produce materials that are employed in various applications. Enzyme-mimicking is one common application used for such metal-amino acid-based materials. Copper (II)-amino acid interactions are widely studied in literature. However, no reports are present discussing interaction of Cu(I) ions with amino acids. Herein, we developed a greener route to synthesize amino acid-capped CuI microcrystals that showed excellent peroxidase like activities. These enzyme-mimics maintain their activities in wide pH and temperature range. Apart from enzyme-mimic, synthesized microcrystals can also be employed in various applications known for CuI-based materials.