Recent Advances and Strategic Advantages in the Construction and Biomedical Applications of Functional Protein Scaffold-Based Nanozymes: A Review

Nanozymes are a class of nanomaterials with enzyme-like activities that have garnered increasing attention due to their potential applications in biomedicine. However, designing nanozymes with the desired properties remains challenging due to issues such as potential biotoxicity and nonselective harmful effects, which limits their biomedical applications. Nowadays, natural or genetically engineered protein scaffolds have emerged as a promising platform for nanozyme design, owing to their unique structural properties, biomineralization capabilities, self-assembly features, and high biocompatibility. Herein, we focus on the main types of protein scaffolds, including natural proteins, recombinant protein, genetic engineering modification recombinant proteins, and biological matrix protein frameworks, used to design of nanozymes, and the classical methods of designing protein scaffold-based nanozymes. We also explore the advantages of genetically engineered proteins in the versatile design of nanozymes and discuss the biomedical applications of protein scaffold-based nanozymes, emphasizing their enzyme-mimicking activities. This perspective provides systematic and innovative insights into the design of nanozymes using protein scaffolds.