Ferrocene derivatives constructed Prussian blue analogs for colorimetric detection of hydrogen peroxide and glucose

Yue Tong; Qian Liu; Dan Yang; Chunze Zhang; Yi Xiao; Mengying Shi; Meng Meng; Huixia Di; Hongmei Gao; Rimo Xi; Yongmei Yin

doi:10.1016/j.bios.2025.117714

Ferrocene derivatives constructed Prussian blue analogs for colorimetric detection of hydrogen peroxide and glucose

Biosens Bioelectron. 2025 Jun 23:117714. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2025.117714. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yue Tong¹, Qian Liu¹, Dan Yang¹, Chunze Zhang², Yi Xiao¹, Mengying Shi¹, Meng Meng¹, Huixia Di¹, Hongmei Gao³, Rimo Xi⁴, Yongmei Yin⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy, and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin, 300353, China.
² Department of Colorectal Surgery, Tianjin Union Medical Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nankai University, Tianjin, 300121, China.
³ Department of Intensive Care Unit, Key Laboratory for Critical Care Medicine of the Ministry of Health, Emergency Medicine Research Institute, Tianjin First Center Hospital, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China. Electronic address: ghm182@163.com.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy, and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin, 300353, China. Electronic address: xirimo@nankai.edu.cn.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy, and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Drug Research, Nankai University, Haihe Education Park, 38 Tongyan Road, Tianjin, 300353, China. Electronic address: yinyongmei@nankai.edu.cn.

PMID: 40562666
DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2025.117714

Abstract

This study reports the rational design of ferrocene-derived Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) as a new class of nanozymes with enhanced catalytic properties. Capitalizing on its high peroxidase-like activity, we developed a colorimetric assay for detecting hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and glucose, which exhibited high stability, sensitivity, and accuracy in biological samples such as serum. Furthermore, by leveraging the reversible structural dynamics of Fc(COOH)₂-PBA, we engineered a dual-mode colorimetric assay for visual quantitation of H₂O₂ and glucose in complex samples, including cells, tissues, and cerebrospinal fluid. The distinct colorimetric response of this system demonstrates promising potential for point-of-care testing applications. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into the structure-activity relationships of nanozymes and will facilitate the development of application-targeted nanozymes for disease diagnostics.

Keywords: Colorimetric assays; Ferrocene derivatives; Nanozyme; Prussian blue analogs.