Cryopreservation of decapsulated Artemia sp. embryos

The decapsulated Artemia sp. embryos at their blastula stage were successfully cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen with various concentrations of glycerol, DMSO, glucose and sucrose as single cryoprotectants. Higher cryoprotectant concentrations were better than the lowers Dual cryoprotectants (glycerol+DMSO, glucose+sucrose) had stronger cryoprotection than single-type cryoprotection. Saturated NaCl solution showed a powerful cryoprotection for various developmental stages of Artemia sp. embryos, although a weaker cryoprotection was observed for later stage. Intraembryoic ice crystal formation was the main reason causing the death of the embryos. The cryoprotection of various cryoprotectants is possibly related to their dehydration effect