Analytical Chemistry<\/em>, reveals how scientists have developed a quick and convenient way of assessing male fertility<\/h2>\nCurrently,\u00a0male fertility\u00a0tests include measuring the concentration and motility of spermatozoa. However, other characteristics of sperm, such as their ability to follow a chemical trail to the egg, can influence the likelihood of fertilization.<\/p>\n
Now, researchers\u00a0have devised a quick and convenient microfluidic chip to assess this chemotactic response of spermatozoa, which could help provide a more complete picture of a man\u2019s fertility.<\/p>\n
Progesterone can attract sperm<\/h3>\n
Sperm\u00a0use chemotaxis, or movement toward increasing or decreasing concentrations of a substance, to guide their journey through the\u00a0fallopian tube\u00a0to the egg. Progesterone is present at high concentrations in the fluid that surrounds the egg, and previous studies have indicated that the hormone can attract and activate spermatozoa of some mammalian species.<\/p>\n
Scientists have used microfluidic devices \u2014 plastic or hydrogel chips with tiny channels through which liquids flow in a highly controlled manner \u2013to study sperm chemotaxis.<\/p>\n
Existing devices have certain limitations<\/h3>\n
Loes Segerink, Johanna Berendsen and colleagues wanted to develop an improved, pump-free microfluidic device that could quickly identify small differences in the chemotactic\u00a0behaviour of sperm. As the previous devices have had various limitations, such as the need for pumps to drive the flow of fluid, which could affect sperm motility.<\/p>\n
A device the size of a postage stamp<\/h3>\n
Based on the existing devices, the team designed a microfluidic chip about the size of a postage stamp. The chip, which they made with an agarose\/gelatine material, contained various channels and side chambers.<\/p>\n
They created a concentration gradient of\u00a0progesterone\u00a0in the device from left to right and saw that more boar spermatozoa added to the device swam to the right-side chambers (high progesterone) than the left (low progesterone), which shows chemotactic movement.<\/p>\n
The researchers explained that in addition to\u00a0fertility testing, the device could be used to investigate other substances that could also contribute to sperm\u2019s guidance mechanism.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[639],"tags":[3125,3126],"class_list":["post-4771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pregnancy-fertility","tag-assessing","tag-male"],"yoast_head":"\n
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