Nanoceria: A rare-earth nanoparticle as a promising anti-cancer therapeutic agent in colon cancer

Abstract The bioactivity and physical characteristics of CeO2 nanoparticles are significantly dependent on the type of the particle, particle size and defects. Herein, a facile and cost effective microwave-assisted combustion route was used to prepare pure CeO2 nanoparticles (NPs). The samples were thoroughly characterized by various techniques and tested as anti-cancer therapeutic agent in colon cancer. The structural investigations (X-ray Powder Diffraction) revealed the formation of single phase cubic fluorite-type structure of CeO2 with Fm-3m space group. Morphological analysis (FESEM), demonstrated the aggregation of irregular nanoparticles with grain size ~ 20–40 nm. To have more knowledge on the sample morphology, TEM and HRTEM images were taken. TEM image showed ceria NPs with squared shape and particle size in 50–95 nm range. Furthermore, HR-TEM micrographs confirmed the crystallinity of the CeO2 sample, which was explored by calculating the distance between the fringes in the corresponding Fourier transformed images. The BET specific surface area (SSA) of as-synthesized ceria nanoparticles, was observed to be 25 m2/g. UV–vis spectral analysis reveals that the direct band gap of CeO2 nanoparticles is about 2.8 eV. It was interesting to observe that, the as prepared NPs exhibit remarkable differential cytotoxicity towards healthy (BHK121, Baby Hamster Kidney cells) and human Colon cancer cells (HCT116). Nuclear fragmentation assay indicated clear DNA fragmentation in HCT116 cells, whereas intact nucleus was observed in normal cells, suggesting ceria induced apoptotic cell death in colon cancer cells. In sum, MACS generated ceria nanoparticles could uncover a new avenue in cancer therapy.