Characterization of Engineered Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles and Their Effects on Lung and Macrophage Cells

Cerium oxide nanoparticles are promising materials as novel nanoscale therapeutics and are commonly used materials in industrial processes. Most cytotoxicity studies on cerium oxide nanoparticles are made from in-lab prepared materials making comparison between studies challenging, especially when performed on unique cell lines under non-standard conditions. Using commercially available nanoparticles we show that particle stability/agglomeration may be critical in determining the cytotoxicity in some cell lines, while in other cell lines, larger sized primary particles are linked to higher cytotoxicity, contrasting what has been reported in the literature for smaller cerium nanoparticles. To accelerate the development of cerium oxide enabled commercial processes and biomedical innovations, a clearer understanding of the interactions between cerium oxide nanoparticles and cells is needed to better understand their fate in and impact on biological systems.