Cerium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal and hydrolysis methods. Cerous (4 + oxide nanoparticles was produced by hydrothermal method and ceric (3 + oxide nanoparticles were produced by hydrolysis method. The different synthesis routes adopted helped in synthesizing nanoparticles of similar size but exhibiting different properties. Detailed characterization of the nanoparticles proved that the synthesized cerium oxide nanoparticles were different in their stoichiometry. The selective toxicity of cerium oxide towards the normal and the cancer cell lines was evaluated. The nanoparticles were found to be nontoxic towards normal cell lines (L929) but cytotoxic towards prostate cancer cell lines (PC-3) as analyzed by MTT assay. Cellular uptake was confirmed by the conjugation of cerium oxide nanoparticle with a fluorescent dye rhodamine-123 followed by optical detection of the uptake.

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