Hydrophilic polymer interaction with nanostructured cerium oxide towards biomedical applications (GAČR)

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CNPs) are receiving much attention as a potential antioxidant agent in medicine since their possibility to regenerate the initial oxidation state through redox reactions. However, the role of hydrophilic coating on CNPs in mediating the reaction between reactive oxygen species and the cerium oxide surface is not fully characterized. This proposal aims at narrowing the gap between fundamental knowledge of polymer interaction with cerium oxide under operando conditions by combining advanced material science techniques for preparation of complex but still well defined ceria nanostructures/thin films models and characterization by atomically-resolved in-situ operando spectroscopic and microscopic methods. Cerium oxide surface will be functionalized by polymers with minimum interaction during electron transfer process while maintaining its integrity to stabilize the nanoparticles, and such interaction will be fully characterized under operando conditions.