In this work, umbelliferone, a kind of coumarin derivative, was proved to exhibit peroxidase-like activity that could catalyze the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide to generate a blue-colored oxide (oxTMB). The catalytic mechanism is similar to that of native enzymes (e.g. horseradish peroxidase, HRP) and nanozymes, which follow the Michaelis-Menten kinetics behavior. Meanwhile, the 7-hydroxyl group of umbelliferone plays a significant role in the peroxidase-like activity. Compared with enzymes and nanozymes, this small molecular mimic enzyme possesses the advantages of low cost, simple molecular structures, small molecular weight and high stability against harsh conditions. Based on the favorable peroxidase mimetic activity of umbelliferone, a convenient, practical and sensitive H2O2 and glucose detection method was successfully established. This work not only opens some new inspirations into seeking for novel molecular enzyme mimetics with excellent catalytic activities, but also provides promising assays for clinical diagnosis.
Keywords: 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine; Umbelliferone; chromogenic reaction; glucose; peroxidase mimic.