ANA Chem: new way! Microfluidic chip can evaluate sperm chemotaxis

At present, the test of male fertility includes the measurement of sperm concentration and motility However, other characteristics of sperm, such as their ability to move to the egg, may also affect the likelihood of fertilization Recently, in a study published in the Journal of analytical chemistry, researchers designed a fast and convenient microfluidic chip that can evaluate the above chemotaxis of sperm, which may help to understand a person's fertility more comprehensively Sperm use chemotaxis or move in a specific direction to guide it through the fallopian tube to the egg There is a high concentration of progesterone in the fluid around the egg Previous studies have shown that the hormone can attract and activate sperm in some mammals Previously, scientists have used microfluidic devices to study sperm chemotaxis However, these devices have many limitations, such as the need for pumps to drive fluid flow, which may affect sperm activity To this end, loes segerink, Johanna berendsen and their colleagues hope to develop an improved micropumpless microfluidic device that can quickly identify the subtle differences in sperm chemotaxis In this study, researchers designed a microfluidic chip about the size of a stamp Their agarose / gelatin chips contain various channels and side chambers The researchers created a progesterone concentration gradient from left to right in the device, and found that boar sperm swimming into the right chamber (high progesterone) in the device moved more than the left (low progesterone), which reflected the effect of the device in measuring sperm drive ability In addition to fertility testing, the device could also be used to study other substances that may contribute to sperm directional movement, the researchers said A new way to assess male fertility