Journal of Bioanalysis & Biomedicine

Bioencapsulation of Florfenicol in Brine Shrimp, Artemia Franciscana, Nauplii

Abstract

Irja Sunde Roiha, Erling Otterlei and Ole Bent Samuelsen

The brine shrimp Artemia franciscana is one of the most common live-feed organisms for use in the larval culture of marine fi sh production. Bioencapsulation of fl orfenicol, an antibacterial agent, in Artemia nauplii was investigated as a potential carrier for this drug to marine larvae. Florfenicol was delivered directly to the organisms as particles, and the doses ranged from 100 to 2000 mg/l. Analysis of fl orfenicol concentrations in Artemia sp. nauplii were performed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The uptake of fl orfenicol in Artemia nauplii increased with particle size, dose, and exposure time, obtaining the highest concentration of 5.02 ng/nauplius, using a dose of 300 mg/l AQUAFLOR premix and 10 min exposure time. However, to obtain reproducible results, an enrichment time of at least 60 min is recommended.