The results from this project are providing a systematic overview of the behaviour of selected ENPs in brackish and marine waters as a function of abiotic parameters.

Nanotechnology is having a large impact in many industrial sectors and the use of nanoparticles is continuously increasing in many fields, from paints, automotive components, consumer products such as cosmetic sunscreens and anti-odorant up to biology and medicine.

Shellfish represent a significant part of the Croatian and global fish markets, however their susceptibility to contamination by algal toxins, with the resulting periodic outbreak of food poisoning in humans, places their commercial value at constant risk.

This project focuses on studying and comparing key biological and inorganic aspects of shellfish, gastropod and sea urchin biomineralization during embryonal development through the use of advanced materials characterization and proteomics techniques as a basis for furthering the development of a fundamental and comprehensive model of biomineralization.

Biomineralization is a complex combination of biochemical and physiological processes in the creation hard structures, depending on endogenous activity of an organism and the exogenous environmental influence. In marine organisms biomineralization starts in early stages of development and continues during the entire life.