An improved brine shrimp larvae lethality microwell test method

Abstract

This article described an improved brine shrimp larvae lethality microwell test method. A simply designed connecting vessel with alternative photoperiod was used to culture and collect high yield of active Artemia parthenogenetica nauplii for brine shrimp larvae lethality microwell test. Using this method, pure A. parthenogenetica nauplii suspension was easily cultured and harvested with high density about 100–150 larvae per milliliter and the natural mortality was reduced to near zero by elimination of unnecessary artificial disturbance. And its sensitivity was validated by determination of LC50–24 h of different reference toxicants including five antitumor agents, two pesticides, three organic pollutants, and four heavy metals salts, most of which exhibited LC50–24 h between 0.07 and 58.43 mg/L except for bleomycin and mitomycin C with LC50–24 h over 300 mg/L.