Artificial oil body as a potential oral administration system in zebrafish

• Assembly of artificial oil bodies (AOBs) with phospholipids, a storage protein, a mixture of olive oil and brine shrimp oil.
• High encapsulation of a hydrophobic fluorescence dye by AOBs which display a prolonged release profile of the dye.
• Complete consumption of the dye-loaded AOBs by one zebrafish in a few seconds.
• Emittance of fluorescence in the zebrafish intestinal tract.
• Almost no traces of the dye cargo left in zebrafish feces.

Zebrafish are well recognized as an excellent vertebrate model which, in particular, facilitates the rapid investigation of drug effects on cancers. A prerequisite for this anti-cancer study appears to have a non-invasive and effecicve method for admininstration of drugs. In this study, we explored the potential of artificial oil bodies (AOBs) for the oral administration of a hydrophobic agent in adult zebrafish. A hydrophobic dye was employed for illustration, and AOBs were assembled with phospholipids, a storage protein, and an equal volume of olive oil and brine shrimp oil. Consequently, more than 90% of the dye was encapsulated in AOBs which exhibited a prolonged release profile for the dye cargo. The dye-loaded AOBs collected as an oil cake remained integral within 30 min in the aquatic solution while it was completely consumed by one zebrafish in a few seconds. As revealed by the fluorescence microscopy and frozen section, the fluorescence signal was detected in the zebrafish intestinal tract 2 h after the oral administration. The dye cargo was completely absorbed in 12 h and almost no trace was left in zebrafish feces. Overall, the AOBs system is biocompatible and shows promise in the oral administration of chemical entities for zebrafish.

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