Separation of progressive motile sperm from mouse semen using on-chip chemotaxis

Anal Sci. 2012;28(1):27-32. doi: 10.2116/analsci.28.27.

Abstract

We present a novel method for the separation of progressive motile sperm from non-progressive motile and immotile sperm. This separation was accomplished by inducing chemotaxis along a longitudinal chemical gradient in a microchip composed of a biocompatible polydimethysiloxane layer and a glass substrate. In a preliminary experiment using fluorescent rhodamine B as a marker, we verified that a chemical gradient was generated by diffusion within the microchannel. We used acetylcholine as a chemoattractant to evaluate the chemotactic response of sperm. We tested the response to a 1/2 to 1/64 dilution series of acetylcholine. The results of a mouse sperm chemotaxis assay showed that progressive motile sperm swam predominantly toward the outlet at an optimal chemical gradient of 0.625 (mg/ml)/mm of acetylcholine. This device provides a convenient, disposable, and high-throughput platform that could function as a progressive motile sperm sorter for potential use in intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Separation / methods*
  • Chemotaxis*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred ICR
  • Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / methods*
  • Sperm Motility*
  • Spermatozoa / cytology*