Study on the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of different morphologies of ceria nanoenzymes with multi enzyme mimetic activity

Cerium dioxide (CeO₂) nanozymes are capable of mimicking the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), thereby facilitating the scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This study aims to synthesize CeO₂ nanozymes with different morphologies by controlling reaction conditions and to elucidate the relationship between morphology and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the same material. The successful preparation of CeO₂ nanozymes with different morphologies was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Our findings revealed that CeO₂ nanotubes exhibited the strongest total antioxidant capacity. More importantly, all CeO₂ nanozymes with different morphologies demonstrated excellent ROS scavenging abilities and effectively inhibited the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, reduced phosphorylated p65 (P-p65) protein levels, and consequently decreased the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6. This study not only elucidates the structure-activity-anti-inflammatory efficacy relationship of CeO₂ nanozymes but also provides a significant theoretical basis for the development of novel anti-inflammatory nanomedicines.