Equine Sperm Selection by Colloidal Centrifugation, Swim-up and a Microfluidic Device and ICSI Outcome

Sorting techniques are used to select sperm for equine intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), with common methods being swim-up and density gradient procedures [1]. Microfluidic devices have been used for the human [2] and equine [3] to sort sperm with improved motility, morphology, viability and DNA integrity. Microfluidic sorting does not require centrifugation, which reduces sperm exposure to reactive oxygen species and potential DNA damage [4,5]. Aims of this study were to compare: 1) stallion sperm parameters before and after sorting using a commercial microfluidic device (MSD), single-layer colloidal centrifugation (SLC), and swim-up (SU) and 2) cleavage and embryo development after ICSI under clinical conditions among sorting methods.

Source: Journal of Equine Veterinary Science - June 23, 2018 Category: Veterinary Research Authors: R.A. Gonzalez-Castro, J.E. Stokes, E.M. Carnevale Source Type: research