Work

Recent advances in antioxidant cerium-based nanozymes: Catalytic mechanisms and bioanalysis/biomedical applications

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Antioxidant enzymes serve as crucial reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging systems in living organisms, capable of efficiently catalyzing the decomposition of excess ROS and playing pivotal roles in anti-aging processes and tumor therapy. However, natural enzymes face significant limitations in practical applications, including limited sources, poor stability, and high production costs. The catalytic mechanisms and precisely organized three-dimensional structures of natural antioxidant enzymes provide important biomimetic insights for designing and developing artificial nanozymes. Among these, cerium-based nanozymes exhibit superior antioxidant-like activity and reaction kinetics due to their unique Ce 3+ /Ce 4+ redox pairs and surface oxygen vacancy structures, demonstrating promising application in biomedical fields. This review systematically summarizes the catalytic mechanisms and biomedical applications of cerium-based antioxidant nanozymes. Building upon the biomimetic catalytic principles of natural catalase, we analyze the structure-activity relationships and performance enhancement strategies of cerium-based antioxidant nanozymes. Furthermore, we highlight recent advances in biomedical applications of cerium-based antioxidant nanozymes and discuss current challenges and future opportunities for their future use.

Source: Chinese Journal of Analytical Chemistry

DOI: 10.1016/j.cjac.2025.100640

Authors: Mingxi XIA, Litao GE, Alexandr ROGACHEV, Zijian WANG, Huilin WANG