Ceria nanoparticles as smart platform for biomedical applications

The present doctoral thesis focuses on the antioxidant activity of cerium oxide nanostructured materials (nanoceria) in biological systems. This goal is obtained through an interdisciplinary approaches spanning from chemistry and physics to biology and medicine. Nanoceria is studied in form of nanoparticles both naked and integrated nanocomposites films. The physicochemical properties are studied by a complete set of characterization techniques such as XRD, FTIR and Raman spectroscopies, DLS, AFM, μ-XRF, SEM and TEM. A specific emphasis is placed on the interactions with cells (PC12, PBMC, oocyte and spermatozoa) as a function of the nanoceria concentration. Different techniques for cell analysis, such as flow cytometry and confocal microscopy, allow monitoring the fate and viability of nanoparticles into the cells.Our results show that nanoceria can be successfully used as antioxidant agent in biomedical field to improve the cells viability both in physiological condition (IVM) and in Parkinson-like diseases. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of nanoceria is also verified in composite materials for prospected applications as ophthalmic medical devices and smart Petri dishes. These results pave the way to the development of an innovative smart "platform" based on the antioxidant properties of functional nanoceria.