Co-encapsulation of Daphnia magna and microalgae in silica matrices, a stepping stone toward a portable microcosm

Mercedes Perullini; Frédéric Orias; Claude Durrieu; Matías Jobbágy; Sara A Bilmes

doi:10.1016/j.btre.2014.10.002

Co-encapsulation of Daphnia magna and microalgae in silica matrices, a stepping stone toward a portable microcosm

Biotechnol Rep (Amst). 2014 Oct 11:4:147-150. doi: 10.1016/j.btre.2014.10.002. eCollection 2014 Dec.

Authors

Mercedes Perullini¹, Frédéric Orias², Claude Durrieu², Matías Jobbágy¹, Sara A Bilmes¹

Affiliations

¹ INQUIMAE-DQIAQF, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pab. II, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
² Université de Lyon, ENTPE, CNRS, UMR 5023 LEHNA, 2 Rue Maurice Audin, 69518 Vaulxen-Velin, France.

Abstract

We report on the first silica encapsulation of a metazoan (Daphnia magna), with a high initial viability (96% of the population remained active 48 h after encapsulation). Moreover, the co-encapsulation of this crustacean and microalgae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) was achieved, creating inside a silica monolith, the smallest microcosm developed to present. This artificial ecosystem in a greatly diminished scale isolated inside a silica nanoporous matrix could have applications in environmental monitoring, allowing ecotoxicity studies to be carried out in portable devices for on-line and in situ pollution level assessment.

Keywords: Daphnia magna-microalgae; Microcosm; Silica co-encapsulation.