Bioencapsulation of the antibacterial drug sarafloxacin in nauplii of the brine shrimp <i>Artemia franciscana</i>

Nauplii of the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana were enriched with the antibacterial drug sarafloxacin hydrochloride to determine if levels effective against four pathogenetic strains of Vibrio spp. would accumulate in brine shrimp. Three vibrio strains were Vibrio anguillarum; the fourth was V. vulnificus. Concentrations of sarafloxacin ranging from 1 to 40% (weight: volume) were incorporated into the oil phase of Super Selco brine shrimp diets. Enriched nauplii and controls were sampled at 2h interval for 24h. Antibiotic sensitivity testing was evaluated with a modification of the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. A microbiological assay with Escherichia coli was used to determine the concentration of sarafloxacin per sample of nauplii. The results indicate that sarafloxacin is rapidly taken up by larval brine shrimp and can be detected at 2h of enrichment by microbiological assay. The efficacy of sarafloxacin appears to depend on the strain of pathogen present