Biodegradable MoSe(2)-polyvinylpyrrolidone nanoparticles with multi-enzyme activity for ameliorating acute pancreatitis

Exogenous antioxidant materials mimicking endogenous antioxidant systems are commonly used for the treatment of oxidative stress-induced injuries. Thus, artificial enzymes have emerged as promising candidates for balancing and treating the dysregulation of redox homeostasis in vivo. Herein, a one-pot hydrothermal strategy for the facile preparation of MoSe(2)-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) nanoparticles (NPs) is reported. The synthesized NPs were biodegradable due to their exposure to oxygen and exhibited high stability. Moreover, they effectively mimicked various naturally occurring enzymes (including catalase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and glutathione peroxidase) and scavenged free radicals, such as 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid, ·OH, ·O(2−), and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical. Further apoptosis detection studies revealed that MoSe(2)-PVP NPs significantly increased the cell survival probability in H(2)O(2) in a concentration-dependent manner. The cytoprotective effect of MoSe(2)-PVP NPs was explored for an animal model of acute pancreatitis, which confirmed its remarkable therapeutic efficacy. Owing to the biodegradable and biocompatible nature of MoSe(2)-PVP NPs, the findings of this work can stimulate the development of other artificial nanoenzymes for antioxidant therapies. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12951-022-01288-x.