Silica-based cerium (III) chloride nanoparticles prevent the fructose-induced glycation of α-crystallin and H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress in human lens epithelial cells

This study aimed to investigate whether silica-cerium (III) chloride (CeCl 3 ) nanoparticles could inhibit the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) and reduce oxidative stress. Silica-CeCl 3 nanoparticles were synthesised by adsorption and embedment with micro-silica materials, forming uniform nanoparticles with a diameter of approximately 130 nm. Chaperone activity assays and AGEs formation assays, and intracellular reactive assays were adopted in this study to evaluate CeCl 3 nanoparticles effect. UV–visible spectrometry showed that silica-CeCl 3 nanoparticles at low concentrations rapidly formed tentatively stable conjugations with α-crystallin, greatly enhancing the chaperone activity of α-crystallin. Moreover, silica-CeCl 3 nanoparticles markedly inhibited the fructose-induced glycation of α-crystallin, showing an advantage over the control drugs aminoguanidine and carnosine. Silica-CeCl 3 nanoparticles also reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species production and restored glutathione levels in H 2 O 2 -treated human lens epithelial cells. These findings suggest that silica-CeCl 3 may be used as a novel agent for the prevention of cataractogenesis.