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A microfluidic sperm-sorting device based on rheotaxis effect

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Abstract

The ultimate challenge for assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) is to select the most competent sperm population from a semen sample in an efficient way. In this paper, we report on an effective sperm sorting microfluidic device that exploits the rheotaxis of sperm and investigates the sperm quality sorted under various flow conditions. Rheotaxis is the ability of a sperm cell to orient itself in the direction of the flow and swim against it. A novel passively driven pumping system is reported that provides a steady flow rate while it requires no external power source. We demonstrate that sperm selected with this device at a specific flow rate have higher motility, normal morphology, and a fewer degree of DNA fragmentation compared to a control group

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, 33431, USA

    Afrouz Ataei & A. W. C. Lau

  2. Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, 33431, USA

    Waseem Asghar

  3. Asghar-Lab, Micro and Nanotechnology in Medicine, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Boca Raton, FL, 33431, USA

    Afrouz Ataei & Waseem Asghar

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  1. Afrouz Ataei
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  2. A. W. C. Lau
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  3. Waseem Asghar
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Ataei, A., Lau, A.W.C. & Asghar, W. A microfluidic sperm-sorting device based on rheotaxis effect. Microfluid Nanofluid 25, 52 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-021-02453-8

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