On December 19, 2025, Liu Huiyu and Su Xin's team published a paper in the Chemical Engineering Journal entitled "Nanozyme-powered detection platform for pyrophosphate and related". Addressing the shortcomings of existing methods for detecting pyrophosphate (PPi), which rely on organic or coordination probes, involve complex synthesis, and require large instruments, the study proposed a colorimetric sensing platform based on ruthenium-iron bimetallic nanozymes (RINs). RINs, prepared via solvothermal calcination under a nitrogen atmosphere, possess strong peroxidase (POD)-like activity, catalyzing the color development of TMB in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. PPi can selectively inhibit this catalytic activity through coordination, weakening the colorimetric signal. This enables direct and ultrasensitive quantification of PPi with a detection limit as low as 84.2 nM, and the entire detection process can be completed within 5 minutes, exhibiting good selectivity and anti-interference capabilities.
On this basis, the authors coupled PPi hydrolysis with the recovery of POD-like activity, expanding the platform to an enzyme activity detection tool: inorganic pyrophosphatase (PPase) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) break down PPi and release inhibition of nanozymes, thereby achieving quantification with detection limits of 3.70 mU/mL and 4.12 mU/mL, respectively. Furthermore, since PPi is a byproduct of PCR amplification, the research team used it as a signal-reporter molecule, constructing a pathogen gene visualization detection protocol that does not require fluorescent labeling probes or complex instruments, enabling real-time and accurate identification of gene fragments related to ESKAPE-resistant bacteria.
The practical value of this strategy was validated in clinical samples: by detecting the nuc gene, the platform successfully detected Staphylococcus aureus infection samples, demonstrating excellent specificity, sensitivity, and clinical applicability. Overall, this work, centered on a single bimetallic nanozyme, integrates small molecule biomarker detection, enzyme activity analysis, and nucleic acid amplification readout into a single colorimetric system. It combines advantages such as strong catalytic performance, good environmental stability, low cost, and easy scalability, providing a universal and scalable technological foundation for point-of-care diagnostics, infectious disease surveillance, and drug resistance screening.
Paper links: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894725126089