Biosensor

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Metal-organic framework

Enzyme

Glucose oxidase

Enzyme assay

Adsorption

Catalysis

Nanoparticle

Chemistry

Materials science

Amorphous solid

Biochemistry

Mesoporous material

Nature Communications

Enzymatic catalysis in living cells enables the in-situ detection of cellular metabolites in single cells, which could contribute to early diagnosis of diseases. In this study, enzyme is packaged in amorphous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) via a one-pot co-precipitation process under ambient conditions, exhibiting 5–20 times higher apparent activity than when the enzyme is encapsulated in corresponding crystalline MOFs. Molecular simulation and cryo-electron tomography (Cryo-ET) combined with other techniques demonstrate that the mesopores generated in this disordered and fuzzy structure endow the packaged enzyme with high enzyme activity. The highly active glucose oxidase delivered by the amorphous MOF nanoparticles allows the noninvasive and facile measurement of glucose in single living cells, which can be used to distinguish between cancerous and normal cells.

Packaging and delivering enzymes by amorphous metal-organic frameworks