Fabrication of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles with Improved Antibacterial Potential and Antioxidant Activity

Abstract

Recent years have seen a dramatic uptick in both research into and practical application of nanoparticles (NPs). Many biomedical applications have found success with the use of nanoparticles due to their wide spectrum of significant biological effects, including antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Nanoparticles that aren't harmful are gaining traction as a promising new class of antioxidants. Cerium oxide is a lanthanide rare-earth element. Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CNPs) exhibit a large surface area and good catalytic activity, the result of the dual oxidation state of CNPs, Ce3+ and Ce4+, has good antibacterial and antioxidant activity. CNPs were characterised by using analytical techniques such as the UVVisible spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS). CNPs exhibited a strong zone of inhibition against S. aureus (15mm) and E. coli (14mm). In vitro antioxidant activity of CNPs was investigated using the DPPH and ABTS techniques, with 50% of their radical scavenging potential being observed at concentrations of 47.61µg/mL and 49.26µg/mL respectively. Thus, our study reports that CNPS could be used as a prominent and efficient antioxidant and antibacterial agent. However, further studies are needed to understand the possible mechanisms of toxicity assessment.