Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12(2), 1253-1278; doi:10.3390/ijerph120201253
Environmental Geochemistry of Cerium: Applications and Toxicology of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles
1
School of Agricultural, Forest and Environmental Science, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
2
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL 61801, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Mónica Amorim
Received: 22 September 2014 / Accepted: 15 January 2015 / Published: 23 January 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Fate and Effect of Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials)
Abstract
Cerium is the most abundant of rare-earth metals found in the Earth’s crust. Several Ce-carbonate, -phosphate, -silicate, and -(hydr)oxide minerals have been historically mined and processed for pharmaceutical uses and industrial applications. Of all Ce minerals, cerium dioxide has received much attention in the global nanotechnology market due to their useful applications for catalysts, fuel cells, and fuel additives. A recent mass flow modeling study predicted that a major source of CeO2 nanoparticles from industrial processing plants (e.g., electronics and optics manufactures) is likely to reach the terrestrial environment such as landfills and soils. The environmental fate of CeO2 nanoparticles is highly dependent on its physcochemical properties in low temperature geochemical environment. Though there are needs in improving the analytical method in detecting/quantifying CeO2 nanoparticles in different environmental media, it is clear that aquatic and terrestrial organisms have been exposed to CeO2 NPs, potentially yielding in negative impact on human and ecosystem health. Interestingly, there has been contradicting reports about the toxicological effects of CeO2 nanoparticles, acting as either an antioxidant or reactive oxygen species production-inducing agent). This poses a challenge in future regulations for the CeO2 nanoparticle application and the risk assessment in the environment. View Full-TextKeywords:
cerium; cerium oxide; nanoparticles; toxicity; fate; geochemistry; lanthanide
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).
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Dahle, J.T.; Arai, Y. Environmental Geochemistry of Cerium: Applications and Toxicology of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12, 1253-1278.
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