High Throughput Sorting of Motile Human Sperm via Microfluidic Device for Artificial Reproductive Technique
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Ma, Wei-Yuan
Abstract
Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), includes in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), as the two most commonly used technologies to address infertility problems. These approaches reveal the fact that pre-selection of functional sperm is of prime importance to successful fertilization. However, one common obstacle for IVF and ICSI procedures is to select the most competent sperm population from a given semen sample. This thesis enhances motility-based sperm preparation to provide competent sperm for ART.
A high throughput microfuidic sperm sorting device that can efficiently separate motile sperms from nonmotile sperms and debris is proposed to fulfill a need in the clinical setting where small amount of qualified sperms need to be sorted. The device isolates motile sperm based on the motility, self-movement, and against-flow phenomenon of motile sperm in a geometrically constrained micro-scaled environment. More specifically, the microfuidic device introduces a flow field for sperms to swim against, and sperms that overcame the flow resistance within a few minutes are propelled along in the microchannels and migrated upstream to the collection region. Hundreds of microchannels are fabricated into the device with a view to increasing the throughput. Hydrostatic pressure was used as the steady driving source by controlling the height of water column to generate the flow field for testing sperm in motility. It has been proven that the hydrostatic pressure and against-flow phenomenon of motile sperm can be used to separating, aligning, and orienting sperm in a microchannel. This microfluidic device is simple to operate, portable and reusable. It can be integrated completely with observation, isolation, and classification of motile sperm in one chip without the need for external pumping system. The microdevice should be applicable to address clinical need of sperm classification and separation for ART.
A high throughput microfuidic sperm sorting device that can efficiently separate motile sperms from nonmotile sperms and debris is proposed to fulfill a need in the clinical setting where small amount of qualified sperms need to be sorted. The device isolates motile sperm based on the motility, self-movement, and against-flow phenomenon of motile sperm in a geometrically constrained micro-scaled environment. More specifically, the microfuidic device introduces a flow field for sperms to swim against, and sperms that overcame the flow resistance within a few minutes are propelled along in the microchannels and migrated upstream to the collection region. Hundreds of microchannels are fabricated into the device with a view to increasing the throughput. Hydrostatic pressure was used as the steady driving source by controlling the height of water column to generate the flow field for testing sperm in motility. It has been proven that the hydrostatic pressure and against-flow phenomenon of motile sperm can be used to separating, aligning, and orienting sperm in a microchannel. This microfluidic device is simple to operate, portable and reusable. It can be integrated completely with observation, isolation, and classification of motile sperm in one chip without the need for external pumping system. The microdevice should be applicable to address clinical need of sperm classification and separation for ART.
Subjects
ART
motile sperm
sperm sorting microfluidic device
swim against flow
Type
thesis
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