Abstract– Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are one of the most
important nanomaterials for toxicological study due to their
extensive use in consumer products and their potential effects
on both human and animal health, and the environment. There
is, however, insufficient information on their impact on the
marine environment. Here, we study the effect of AgNPs in sea
urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) development by X-ray
absorption near edge structure (XANES) and Fourier transform
infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Agglomerated AgNPs were
observed in sea urchin larva at 51 h after exposure to AgNPs
with a concentration of 0.3 mg/L. XANES shows that
agglomerated AgNPs contain oxidized Ag species complexed
with S and O/N ligands. FTIR results confirm the presence of
additional sulphur compounds suggestive of a biological
response to the toxicity of AgNPs in the sea urchins.
Additionally, it could be concluded from the FTIR results that
there is a loss of calcite in the sea urchins exposed to AgNPs.