Nanozymes are nanomaterials with enzyme-like properties that have attracted significant interest owing to their high stability, easy preparation, and tunable catalytic properties, especially in the field of cancer therapy. However, the unfavorable catalytic effects of nanozymes in the acidic tumor microenvironment have limited their applications. Herein, we developed a biomimetic erythrocyte membrane-camouflaged ultrasmall black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) nanozymes that simultaneously exhibited an exceptional near-infrared (NIR) photothermal property and dramatically photothermal-enhanced glucose oxidase (GOx)-like activity in the acidic tumor microenvironment. We demonstrated the engineered BPQDs gave a photothermal conversion efficiency of 28.9% that could rapidly heat the tumor up to 50 ℃ while effectively localized into tumors via homing peptide iRGD leading after intravenously injection. Meanwhile, the significantly enhanced GOx-like activity of BPQDs under NIR irradiation was capable of catalytical generating massive toxic reactive oxygen species via using cellular glucose. By combining the intrinsic photothermal property and the unique photothermal-enhanced GOx-like catalytic activity, the developed BPQDs were demonstrated to be an effective therapeutic strategy for inhibiting tumor growth in vivo. We believe that this work will provide a novel perspective for the development of nanozymes in tumor catalytic therapy.

Nanozymes are nanomaterials with enzyme-like properties that have attracted significant interest owing to their capability to address the limitations of traditional enzymes such as fragility, high cost, and impossible mass production. Over the past decade, a broad variety of nanomaterials have been found to mimic the enzyme-like activity by engineering the active centers of natural enzymes or developing multivalent elements within nanostructures. Carbon nanomaterials with well-defined electronic and geometric structures have served as favorable surrogates of traditional enzymes by mimicking the highly evolved catalytic center of natural enzymes. In particular, by combining the unique electronic, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties, carbon nanomaterials-based nanozymes can offer a variety of multifunctional platforms for biomedical applications. In this review, we will introduce the enzymatic characteristics and recent advances of carbon nanozymes, and summarize their significant applications in biomedicine.