Biomimetic Dichalcogenide‐Hybrid Nanozymes With Glutathione Peroxidase‐Like Activity for Liver Protection

ABSTRACT Glutathione peroxidase (GPX)‐mimetic nanozymes are a promising strategy to restore redox homeostasis, but many existing systems rely on metals and remain limited by cytotoxicity, poor selectivity, and susceptibility to catalytic deactivation. Inspired by the active‐site chemistry of native GPX, we designed dichalcogenide‐hybrid mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) as inorganic–organic nanozymes with tunable sulfur and selenium environments. Structure–activity analysis showed that GPX‐like performance is governed by chalcogen composition, chalcogen density, and spatial proximity of S/Se within the framework, which together regulate reversible disulfide/diselenide redox cycling and substrate access. Among the materials tested, the diselenide–hybrid framework exhibited the highest activity, with improved selectivity and biocompatibility relative to the disulfide‐hybrid analogue, and conventional metal‐based GPX mimics. Mechanistic studies indicated efficient glutathione‐dependent detoxification of peroxides and lipid peroxides through catalytically active chalcogen intermediates. In vivo, the optimized diselenide‐hybrid material protected against acetaminophen‐induced and rifampicin‐induced liver injury, reduced oxidative stress and inflammation, restored antioxidant capacity, and improved survival. It also alleviated steatosis and metabolic dysfunction in metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) models. These findings establish dichalcogenide–hybrid frameworks as effective GPX‐like nanozymes and a promising platform for the treatment of oxidative stress‐associated liver diseases.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Materials
Published
2026-10-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.75439
Primary Topic
Advanced Nanomaterials in Catalysis
Type
article
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article

Biomimetic Dichalcogenide‐Hybrid Nanozymes With Glutathione Peroxidase‐Like Activity for Liver Protection

Dan Shao, Fangman Chen, Kam W. Leong, Madi Sun et al.
Advanced Materials
Advanced Nanomaterials in Catalysis
article

Biomimetic Dichalcogenide‐Hybrid Nanozymes With Glutathione Peroxidase‐Like Activity for Liver Protection

Dan Shao, Fangman Chen, Kam W. Leong, Madi Sun, Yunlu Dai, Xin Zhao, Quanxin Ning, Hanyao Huang, Ziping Wu, Chao Yang, Shaowen Wang, Peiyu Chen, Xiaochun Xie
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Glutathione peroxidase (GPX)‐mimetic nanozymes are a promising strategy to restore redox homeostasis, but many existing systems rely on metals and remain limited by cytotoxicity, poor selectivity, and susceptibility to catalytic deactivation. Inspired by the active‐site chemistry of native GPX, we designed dichalcogenide‐hybrid mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) as inorganic–organic nanozymes with tunable sulfur and selenium environments. Structure–activity analysis showed that GPX‐like performance is governed by chalcogen composition, chalcogen density, and spatial proximity of S/Se within the framework, which together regulate reversible disulfide/diselenide redox cycling and substrate access. Among the materials tested, the diselenide–hybrid framework exhibited the highest activity, with improved selectivity and biocompatibility relative to the disulfide‐hybrid analogue, and conventional metal‐based GPX mimics. Mechanistic studies indicated efficient glutathione‐dependent detoxification of peroxides and lipid peroxides through catalytically active chalcogen intermediates. In vivo, the optimized diselenide‐hybrid material protected against acetaminophen‐induced and rifampicin‐induced liver injury, reduced oxidative stress and inflammation, restored antioxidant capacity, and improved survival. It also alleviated steatosis and metabolic dysfunction in metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) models. These findings establish dichalcogenide–hybrid frameworks as effective GPX‐like nanozymes and a promising platform for the treatment of oxidative stress‐associated liver diseases.

Advanced Materials
University of Macau (MO), Sichuan University (CN), Columbia University Irving Medical Center (US), Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University (CN), West China Hospital of Sichuan University (CN), Guangdong Industry Technical College (CN), Columbia University (US), South China University of Technology (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 28%
Advanced Nanomaterials in Catalysis
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