Bioactive Carbon@CeO₂ Composites as Efficient Antioxidants with Antiamyloid and Radioprotective Potentials

Abstract

Blending carbon particles (CPs) and nanoscale bioactive cerium dioxide is a promising approach for designing composites for biomedical applications, combining the sorption and antioxidant potentials of each individual component. To address this issue, it is crucial to assess the correlation between the components' ratio, physicochemical parameters, and biofunctionality of the composites. Thus, the current research was aimed at fabricating C@CeO 2 composites with different molar ratios and the examination of how the parameters of the composites affect their bioactivity. XRD, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electron microscopy data verified the formation of C@CeO 2 composites. CeO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) of 4−6 nm are highly dispersed on the surfaces of amorphous CPs. The presence of CeO 2 NPs on the carbon surface decreased its adsorption potential in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, the coexistence of carbon and CeO 2 in a single composite promotes some redox interactions between O-functionalities and Ce 3+ /Ce 4+ species, resulting in changes in the chemical state of the surface of the composites. These observations suggest the strong connection between these parameters and the biofunctionality of the composites. The presence of CeO 2 NPs on the surface of carbon led to a significant increase in the stability of the prepared composites in their aqueous suspensions. The enhancement of bioactivity of the newly prepared C@CeO 2 compared to bare carbon and CeO 2 was validated by testing their pseudomimetic (catalase/peroxidase-like and superoxide dismutase-like), antiamyloid, and radioprotective activities.