Efficient transition metal nanozymes as the alternate for natural enzymes in food analysis and environmental remediation

Natural enzyme's prominent biocatalysts face severe drawbacks in terms of stability, sensitivity, storage, and reusability. Using nanotechnology as a tool several enzyme mimetics called nanozymes were prepared to perform various functions like sensing and degradation of contaminants in food and the environment. Nanozymes with enzyme-mimicking activities are influenced by certain factors like size, composition, surface morphology, temperature, pH, activators and inhibitors. Hence a perfectly tuned nanozyme must overcome all the short comings and it possesses admirable signal transduction activity, fluorescent activity, conductivity, admirable signal transduction activity, fluorescent activity, conductivity and biocompatibility. These noble properties impressed the researchers to make use of nanozymes as biomarkers to indicate and measure the changes that takes place in food samples when it is exposed to foreign bodies. Similarly, the environmental contaminants were also detected and treated using these nanozymes. Here, we have attempted to review the works reported on transition metal-based nanozymes and their application in food safety/risk analysis and environmental remediation etc.