The work of St. Lawrence University biology and neuroscience faculty was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology. Dr. Karin Heckman, Dr. Ana Estevez, Dr. Bill DeCoteau, and Dr. Joe Erlichman collaborated on experiments that investigated the properties and biological effects of similar, yet distinct cerium oxide nanoparticles in experiments ranging from cell-free assessment in the laboratory to assessment in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.
Cerium oxide nanoparticles have received a lot of research interest recently due to their small size and potent antioxidant activity, properties which could potentially be harnessed for treating neurodegenerative conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
The findings by Heckman et al. emphasize that nanomaterials that have similar effects in the laboratory may behave very differently when introduced into a whole animal disease model. Several SLU students assisted with these experiments and are listed as co-authors on this publication.
Frontiers in Pharmacology is an open access journal that publishes peer-reviewed research in the areas of basic and clinical pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, pharmacy and toxicology. According to its website, this journal ranks in the 82nd percentile of pharmacology journals.
Heckman KL, Estevez AY, DeCoteau W, Vangellow S, Ribeiro S, Chiarenzelli J, Hays-Erlichman B, and Erlichman JS. Variable in Vivo and in Vitro Biological Effects of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticle Formulations. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2020; 10: 1599. DOI=10.3389/fphar.2019.01599 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2019.01599/full