Artoxkit M
The cyst-based Artemia franciscana toxicity test is applicable for toxicity screening of chemicals, contaminated coastal and estuarine waters, effluents or elutriates with high conductivity values, biotoxins and marine sediment pore waters.
Artoxkit M contains all necessary materials to perform six acute 24h mortality tests with the marine crustacean Artemia franciscana (formerly named Artemia salina). This bioassay is cost-effective, culture-independent and highly standardised.
Test criterion
The acute Artemia franciscana toxicity test is a 24h bioassay based on the mortality of the test organisms, with calculation of the 24h LC50. Learn more about the Artemia toxicity test procedure
Contents of the Artoxkit M
Each ARTOXKIT M contains all the materials necessary to perform six acute toxicity tests with the marine crustacean Artemia franciscana (formerly Artemia salina). Easy to follow instructions and detailed illustrations are provided in the kits for the conduct of range-finding and definitive tests. The test organisms are included in the kits as dormant eggs (cysts) which can easily be hatched on demand, in less than 24h, to supply the live biota for the conduct of the assays
- Tubes with cysts (dormant eggs), which you can hatch on demand within 30h to supply the live biota for the Artemia franciscana toxicity test.
- Concentrated hatching and toxicant dilution medium, hatching and test containers and micropipettes for the transfer of the organisms.
- Short Bench Protocol and standard operating procedure brochure with easy-to-follow instructions and detailed illustrations.
- Data scoring sheets and a Quality Control specification sheet with batch number of the cysts and the media.
All test materials and equipment included in the Artoxkit M are available separately.
Reproducibility
- We produce high-quality cysts in strictly controlled conditions. This way, we preclude variability associated with recruitment/maintenance of live stocks in conventional bioassays.
- The quality of the standardised test medium is highly uniform, thanks to simple dilution of concentrated solutions of selected salts with deionised water.
- A Quality Control test with a reference chemical is described in detail, so you can easily check accuracy and reproducibility.
Cost-Effectiveness
- You can hatch the cysts on demand, which eliminates the need and the costs of continuous culturing and maintenance of your test organisms.
- The Artemia franciscana toxicity test requires minimal space and equipment:
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- dissection microscope
- incubator with lateral lights
- conventional laboratory glassware
- If you store the cysts properly, you can prolong their shelf life for several months and reduce test scheduling constraints.
User-Friendliness
- Simple handlings and scorings.
- Total performance time of the Artemia toxicity assay is approximately 1 hour.
- We can provide you with a computer program for easy Toxkit data treatment.
Sensitivity
Artemia franciscana is especially sensitive to biotoxins produced by freshwater and marine microalgae.
Applications
Artemia franciscana is a euryhaline organism, which allows you to perform bioassays on waters in a salinity ranging from 5-10 ppt (brackish water) to 35 ppt (seawater).
Validation
- The Artemia franciscana toxicity test is used in many environmental laboratories and research institutes worldwide for standardised screening of environmental samples and chemicals in a regulatory framework.
- You can find a substantial number of publications, posters, reports and reviews for various uses.
