Precise engineering of ultrasound-mediated cerium oxide nanoparticles: Investigations on antioxidant, antibacterial activity and human osteomyelitis

Abstract In this study, the antibacterial activity of cerium oxide nanoparticles on two Gram-negative and three Gram-positive foodborne pathogens was investigated. CeO2 nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) were synthesized by a Wet Chemical Synthesis route, using the precipitation method and the Simultaneous Addition of reactants (WCS–SimAdd). The as-obtained precursor powders were investigated by thermal analysis (TG–DTA), to study their decomposition process and to understand the CeO2 NPs formation. The composition, structure, and morphology of the thermally treated sample were investigated by FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, TEM, and DLS. The cubic structure and average particle size ranging between 5 and 15 nm were evidenced. Optical absorption measurements (UV–Vis) reveal that the band gap of CeO2 NPs is 2.61 eV, which is smaller than the band gap of bulk ceria. The antioxidant effect of CeO2 NPs was determined, and the antibacterial test was carried out both in liquid and on solid growth media against five pathogenic microorganisms, namely Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus. Cerium oxide nanoparticles showed growth inhibition toward all five pathogens tested with notable results. This paper highlights the CeO2 NPs showed antibacterial activity with significant variations due to the differences in the membrane structure and cell wall composition among the two groups tested. Consequently, synthesized CeO2 NPs can be potential candidates for the treatment of osteomyelitis.