Nanomaterials have been developed for many biomedical applications, including medical imaging, drug delivery, and antimicrobial coatings. Intriguingly, nanoparticles can display ‘enzyme-like’ activity and have been explored as alternatives to natural enzymes in several industrial and energy-related applications. Recently, these catalytic nanomaterials with enzyme-mimetic properties have found new biomedical applications, from biofilm disruption to protection against neurodegeneration and tumor prevention. In this review we focus on recent in vivo studies demonstrating potential therapeutic uses of catalytic nanomaterials. We also provide insights about the relationships between catalytic activity, therapeutic efficacy, and biocompatibility that are critical for clinical translatability. Finally, we discuss current challenges and future directions for the use of these nanomaterials as novel platforms for the development of sustainable, affordable, and safe therapeutics.

纳米材料已被开发用于许多生物医学应用，包括医学成像，药物输送和抗菌涂层。有趣的是，纳米粒子可以表现出“类酶”的活性，并已在多种工业和能源相关应用中被探索为天然酶的替代品。最近，这些具有酶模拟性质的催化纳米材料已经发现了新的生物医学应用，从生物膜破坏到防止神经变性和预防肿瘤。在这篇综述中，我们关注于最近的体内研究表明了催化纳米材料的潜在治疗用途。我们还提供了对催化活性，治疗功效和生物相容性之间的关系的见解，这对临床可翻译性至关重要。最后，我们讨论了使用这些纳米材料作为开发可持续，负担得起的和安全的疗法的新平台的当前挑战和未来方向。