Powders of cerium-containing hydroxyapatites (Ce–HA) with an estimated cerium concentration of up to 0.5 mol % have been synthesized. The phase formation and luminescent properties of the compounds after heat treatment in oxidizing and reducing atmospheres have been investigated. It has been shown that a high HA luminescence intensity can be achieved by preventing the cerium(III) → cerium(IV) transition in a reducing atmosphere at 900–1200°C, as well as by cosubstitution of Ce³⁺ and Li⁺ ions for Ca²⁺ ions to compensate for the excess charge of the additive. The dependence of the luminescence intensity of materials on the heat treatment temperature and cerium concentration is shown.

Bones are the fourth most frequent site of metastasis from malignant tumors, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma, etc. The bioavailability of bone tissue for chemotherapy drugs is extremely low. This requires a search for new approaches of targeted drug delivery to the tumor growth zone after surgery treatment. The aim of this work was to develop a method for octacalcium phosphate (OCP) bone graft functionalization with the cytostatic drug cisplatin to provide the local release of its therapeutic concentrations into the bone defect. OCP porous ceramic granules (OCP ceramics) were used as a platform for functionalization, and bisphosphonate zoledronic acid was used to mediate the interaction between cisplatin and OCP and enhance their binding strength. The obtained OCP materials were studied using scanning electron and light microscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography, atomic emission spectroscopy, and real-time PCR. In vitro and in vivo studies were performed on normal and tumor cell lines and small laboratory animals. The bioactivity of initial OCP ceramics was explored and the efficiency of OCP functionalization with cisplatin, zoledronic acid, and their combination was evaluated. The kinetics of drug release and changes in ceramics properties after functionalization were studied. It was established that zoledronic acid changed the physicochemical and bioactive properties of OCP ceramics and prolonged cisplatin release from the ceramics. In vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed the biocompatibility, osteoconductivity, and osteoinductivity, as well as cytostatic and antitumor properties of the obtained materials. The use of OCP ceramics functionalized with a cytostatic via the described method seems to be promising in clinics when primary or metastatic tumors of the bone tissue are removed.

Cerium-containing tricalcium phosphate (TCP, Ca₃(PO₄)₂) nanopowders with the whitlockite structure have been prepared via precipitation from solution. After heat treatment at 1300°C, the materials contained 0, 0.07, 0.18, and 0.39 wt % cerium, which corresponded to х = 0, 0.0025, 0.006, and 0.013 in the general formula Ca_{3 – х}Ce_2х/3(PO₄)₂. The thermal stability of β-TCP has been shown to increase with increasing cerium content. The synthesized cerium-containing TCP powders show luminescence properties under excitation at wavelengths from 270 to 320 nm, with a peak emission wavelength from 360 to 390 nm, characteristic of Ce³⁺ luminescence. Varying the percentage of cerium in the materials and heat treatment temperature causes the emission spectrum to shift.