Bioencapsulation of Metronidazole in Adult Brine Shrimp (Artemiasp.)

A description of bioencapsulation of metronidazole in adult brine shrimp (Artemia) for 2.5 g/L, 5 g/L, and 10 g/L treatment baths is presented. Metronidazole was detected in adult brine shrimp tissue after enrichment periods of 15 min, 30 min, 1 hr, 2 hr, 4 hr, 8 hr, 12 hr, and 24 hr. The assays were performed using high performance liquid chromatography. There was a positive relationship in both dose and time. When evaluating percent uptake, all three baths demonstrated a similar pattern. All three bath concentrations had a high initial concentration that fell at 30 min and slowly began to increase through the end of the study. Survival of shrimp was not affected by bath concentration but decreased over time in all treatment baths comparatively. It can be concluded that metronidazole can be successfully bioencapsulated in adult Artemia.