The development of advanced composite biomaterials combining the versatility and biodegradability of polymers and the unique characteristics of metal oxide nanoparticles unveils new horizons in emerging biomedical applications, including tissue regeneration, drug delivery and gene therapy, theranostics and medical imaging. Nanocrystalline cerium(IV) oxide, or nanoceria, stands out from a crowd of other metal oxides as being a truly unique material, showing great potential in biomedicine due to its low systemic toxicity and numerous beneficial effects on living systems. The combination of nanoceria with new generations of biomedical polymers, such as PolyHEMA (poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-based hydrogels, electrospun nanofibrous polycaprolactone or natural-based chitosan or cellulose, helps to expand the prospective area of applications by facilitating their bioavailability and averting potential negative effects. This review describes recent advances in biomedical polymeric material practices, highlights up-to-the-minute cerium oxide nanoparticle applications, as well as polymer-nanoceria composites, and aims to address the question: how can nanoceria enhance the biomedical potential of modern polymeric materials?

Functional recognition imaging in Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) using artificial neural network identification is demonstrated. This approach utilizes statistical analysis of complex SPM responses to identify the target behavior, reminiscent of associative thinking in the human brain and obviating the need for analytical models. As an example of recognition imaging, we demonstrate rapid identification of cellular organisms using difference in electromechanical activity in a broad frequency range. Single-pixel identification of model Micrococcus lysodeikticus and Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria is achieved, demonstrating the viability of the method.

Poly(butyl cyanoacrylate) (PBCA) nanoparticles (NPs) can penetrate blood-brain barrier providing the means for drug delivery to the central nervous system. Here, we study attachment of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and anti-glutamate N-methyl D-aspartate receptor 1 (NR1) antibody to PBCA NPs with the ultimate goal to design neuroprotective therapeutics for treatment of secondary spinal cord injury. Synthesis of monodispersed, ∼200 nm-diameter PBCA NPs was performed using polymerization at pH 2.0 with Dextran 70,000 as the stabilizer. Sulfo-HSAB spacers were used to covalently attach SOD and NR1 antibodies to the dextran-coated NPs. The prepared protein-NP conjugates possessed SOD activity and were capable of binding to rat cerebellar neurons. Thus, SOD and NR1 antibodies may be simultaneously attached to PBCA NPs while retaining at least a fraction of enzymatic activity and receptor-binding ability. The conjugates showed neuroprotective efficacy in vitro with rat cerebellar cell cultures challenged by superoxide.

Interactions of nanoparticles with biological matter—both somatically and in nature—draw scientists’ attention. Nanoparticulate systems are believed to be our saviors, acting as versatile drug delivery vehicles. However, they can also cause life-threatening bodily damage. One of the most important properties of nanocrystalline cerium dioxide is its antioxidant activity, which decreases the abundance of reactive oxygen species during inflammation. In this paper, we report on synergistic effects of inorganic cerium oxide (IV) nanoparticles conjugated with the antioxidative enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase on scavenging oxygen and nitrogen radicals.