In this work, bimetallic Bi/Pt nanoparticles in bovine serum albumin biomolecular scaffold (BSA-Bi/ PtNPs) were synthesized through a facile and green method. As compared with BSA-PtNPs, the BSA-Bi/ PtNPs possess enhanced peroxidase-like catalytic activity. Moreover, the BSA-Bi/PtNPs are stable in harsh conditions such as high temperature, extreme pH environments, and high ionic strength, as well as in common biological matrixes. These prominent advantages enable the BSA-Bi/PtNPs to be applied to a wide range of fields. Bioassays, such as serum glucose detection, extracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) monitor, and cancer cells labeling, have been realized with satisfying results. The linear range of glucose determination was from 1 to 100 mu M and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.2 mM. The H2O2 released from each MCF-7 cell after stimulation was calculated to be 2.66 x 10(-16) mol/s. By utilizing folic acid as a recognition element, tumor cell could be readily distinguished by BSA-Bi/PtNPs and the LOD for MCF-7 cell detection was 90 cells. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.