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Microfluidic Sperm Selection

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Male Infertility

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Abstract

With advances in assisted reproduction techniques, the degree of demand on the male gamete has decreased to such a level that the role of the sperm has been reduced to a mere packet of DNA to be released into the cytoplasm of the oocyte. Now, we know that regardless of appearance, this package may contain unpleasant surprises such as sperm DNA damage. Conventional semen processing techniques aim to recover motile spermatozoa, separating them from seminal plasma, debris, and immotile sperm. Nevertheless, motility is a guarantee of vitality but is not a guarantee of chromatin integrity. It would be ideal if we could access the chromatin status of each spermatozoon prior to injection, but this is not feasible without destroying it or compromising its functionality. Probably, the most effective approach would be to access male gamete functionality indirectly. Thus, the sperm would be tested not for what it is but for what it can do. Microfluidic devices can help with this task subjecting the male gametes to several selection factors in a controlled environment. The collaborative work of engineers, biologists, and embryologists can lead to the development of efficient and cost-effective platforms improving the treatment of male factor infertility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Assisted Reproduction Laboratory, Hospital Das Clínicas Da Universidade De São Paulo/Clínica Monteleone, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Hamilton de Martin

  2. Department of Andrology, Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade de São Paulo/Huntington IVF, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Guilherme J. A. Wood

  3. Department of Gynecology, Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade de São Paulo/Clínica Monteleone, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Pedro Augusto A. Monteleone

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  1. Hamilton de Martin
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  2. Guilherme J. A. Wood
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. PUR Clinic, University of Central Florida (UCF), Clermont, FL, USA

    Sijo J. Parekattil

  2. ANDROFERT and State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil

    Sandro C. Esteves

  3. Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Ashok Agarwal

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de Martin, H., Wood, G.J.A., Monteleone, P.A.A. (2020). Microfluidic Sperm Selection. In: Parekattil, S., Esteves, S., Agarwal, A. (eds) Male Infertility. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32300-4_53

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