Generation 9 polyamidoamine dendrimer encapsulated platinum nanoparticle mimics catalase size, shape, and catalytic activity

Poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) encapsulated platinum nanoparticles were synthesized and used as catalase mimics. Acetylated generation 9 (Ac-G9) PAMAM dendrimer with a molecular size around 10 nm was used as a template to synthesize platinum nanoparticles. The feeding molar ratio of Pt⁴⁺ and Ac-G9 is 2048, and the synthesized platinum nanoparticle (Ac-G9/Pt NP) has an average size of 3.3 nm. Ac-G9/Pt NP has a similar molecular size and globular shape with catalase (∼11 nm). The catalytic activity of Ac-G9/Pt NP on the decomposition of H₂O₂ is approaching that of catalase at 37 C. Ac-G9/Pt NP shows differential response to the changes of pH and temperature compared with catalase, which can be explained by different catalytic mechanisms of Ac-G9/Pt NP and catalase. Ac-G9/Pt NP also shows horseradish peroxidase activity and is able to scavenge free radicals such as di(phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)iminoazanium (DPPH). Furthermore, Ac-G9/Pt NP shows excellent biocompatibility on different cell lines and can down-regulate H₂O₂-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in these cells. These results suggest that dendrimers are promising mimics of proteins with different sizes and Ac-G9/Pt NP can be used as an alternative candidate of catalase to decrease oxidation stress in cells.