Comparative Pulmonary Toxicity of Two Ceria Nanoparticles with the Same Primary Size

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Lu Peng¹  Xiao He²  Peng Zhang²  Jing Zhang³  Yuanyuan Li²  Junzhe Zhang⁴  Yuhui Ma²  Yayun Ding²  Zhenqiang Wu¹  Zhifang Chai² 

[1] School of Biological Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China; E-Mail:;CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, CAS Key Laboratory of Nuclear Radiation and Nuclear Energy Technology, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; E-Mails:;Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; E-Mail:;College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China; E-Mail:

关键词: nano-ceria;    pulmonary toxicity;    agglomerates;    size distribution;    surface chemistry;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms15046072

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Ceria nanoparticles (nano-ceria) have recently gained a wide range of applications, which might pose unwanted risks to both the environment and human health. The greatest potential for the environmental discharge of nano-ceria appears to be in their use as a diesel fuel additive. The present study was designed to explore the pulmonary toxicity of nano-ceria in mice after a single exposure via intratracheal instillation. Two types of nano-ceria with the same distribution of a primary size (3–5 nm), but different redox activity, were used: Ceria-p, synthesized by a precipitation route, and Ceria-h, synthesized by a hydrothermal route. Both Ceria-p and Ceria-h induced oxidative stress, inflammatory responses and cytotoxicity in mice, but their toxicological profiles were quite different. The mean size of Ceria-p agglomerates was much smaller compared to Ceria-h, thereby causing a more potent acute inflammation, due to their higher number concentration of agglomerates and higher deposition rate in the deep lung. Ceria-h had a higher reactivity to catalyzing the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and caused two waves of lung injury: bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) inflammation and cytotoxicity in the early stage and redox-activity-evoked lipid peroxidation and pro-inflammation in the latter stage. Therefore, the size distribution of ceria-containing agglomerates in the exhaust, as well as their surface chemistry are essential characteristics to assess the potential risks of using nano-ceria as a fuel additive.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland