Use of a medium devoid of any human or animal compound (SMART2) for embryo culture in intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
OBJECTIVE
Our purpose was to evaluate the efficiency of a medium, devoid of any human or animal compound and specially designed for early embryo development (from the zygote to the eight-cell stage), SMART2, in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and to compare it with a medium containing human serum albumin (EllioStep2).


METHODS
Oocytes from 50 ICSI attempts were randomly placed, after sperm injection, into either SMART2 or EllioStep2. After a 48-hr incubation, the embryos were examined for quality scoring before transfer or freezing.


RESULTS
The percentage of normally fertilized oocytes per intact oocytes was slightly higher using SMART2 (139/199 vs. 135/224, respectively, for SMART2 and EllioStep2; P < 0.05). The distribution of embryo scores and the percentage of embryos with a fair morphology (71/143 vs. 72/148, respectively, for SMART2 and EllioStep2; not significant) were identical in both media.


CONCLUSIONS
These data show that SMART2 medium can be successfully used for early embryo growth and, because it is devoid of any human or animal compound, offers better safety for patients than conventional media.
Parinaud
J
J
Laboratoire de Fécondation In Vitro, CHU La Grave, Toulouse, France.
Milhet
P
P
Vieitez
G
G
Richoilley
G
G
D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry*; D046508:Culture Techniques; D003593:Cytoplasm; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008845:Microinjections; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology; D013094:Spermatozoa