BioTech Encyclopedia

Elements · ← La Lanthanum · Pr Praseodymium →

Ce Cerium

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) can mop up reactive oxygen species.

Basic facts

SymbolCe
Atomic number58
Standard atomic weight140.116
Groupnone (lanthanide series)
Period6
Blockf-block
CategoryLanthanide
Standard stateSolid
Discovered1803

Source: PubChem, Cerium (periodic table data, retrieved 2026-10-19). Group and period follow the standard 18-column periodic table.

Biotech uses & experiments

Uses proposed by researchers are listed on Potential uses.

nanotechnology

lab nanotechnology 2006

Nanoceria protects the retina

Chen and colleagues showed cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) prevented rises in reactive oxygen inside rat retina cell cultures and, in living animals, prevented vision loss from light-induced degeneration of photoreceptor cells.

As reported in: Chen, Patil, Seal et al. (2006). Rare earth nanoparticles prevent retinal degeneration induced by intracellular peroxides. Nature Nanotechnology. doi:10.1038/nnano.2006.91

Read free · preprint / author manuscript

Topics on this site about cerium

Entries elsewhere on the site that mention cerium

Found by name, common compounds and chemical formulas in each entry.

Patents

Search Google Patents for cerium in biological and medical uses: all patents · recent applications (2022+)

A patent is a legal claim, not proof that something works. See the Patents page.