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The influence of the female reproductive tract and sperm features on the design of microfluidic sperm-sorting devices

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Abstract

Although medical advancements have successfully helped a lot of couples with their infertility by assisted reproductive technologies (ART), sperm selection, a crucial stage in ART, has remained challenging. Therefore, we aimed to investigate novel sperm separation methods, specifically microfluidic systems, as they do sperm selection based on sperm and/or the female reproductive tract (FRT) features without inflicting any damage to the selected sperm during the process. In this review, after an exhaustive studying of FRT features, which can implement by microfluidics devices, the focus was centered on sperm selection and investigation devices. During this study, we tried not to only point to the deficiencies of these systems, but to put forth suggestions for their improvement as well.

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  1. Nima Ahmadkhani and Mahshid Hosseini contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Nima Ahmadkhani, Mahshid Hosseini & Maryam Saadatmand

  2. Department of Food Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Alireza Abbaspourrad

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  1. Nima Ahmadkhani
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  2. Mahshid Hosseini
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Nima Ahmadkhani: The idea for the article, performed the literature search, and drafted the work.

Mahshid Hosseini: The idea for the article, performed the literature search, and drafted the work.

Maryam Saadatmand: Guided the research and revised the manuscript.

Alireza Abbaspourrad: Revised the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Maryam Saadatmand.

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Ahmadkhani, N., Hosseini, M., Saadatmand, M. et al. The influence of the female reproductive tract and sperm features on the design of microfluidic sperm-sorting devices. J Assist Reprod Genet 39, 19–36 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-021-02377-w

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