Double-quality control reveals high-level toxicity in gloves used for operator protection in assisted reproductive technology.
OBJECTIVE
To submit different glove brands to double-quality control tests using mouse embryo assay (MEA) and the human sperm motility assay (HuSMA). Operator protection against infectious body fluid contamination is a safety issue in assisted reproductive technology (ART). When using gloves in the ART laboratory, toxic substances can be transmitted to culture media, even during brief contact.


METHODS
Quality control study of gloves in ART.


METHODS
University hospital-based infertility center.


METHODS
Seven- to 8-week-old female B6D2F1 hybrid mice.


METHODS
We tested two surgical, two cleanroom, and six examination glove brands. Only gloves brands that passed both HuSMA and MEA were submitted to further QC using zona-free and/or cryopreserved MEA.


METHODS
Sperm motility index, two-cell and blastocyst development, blastocyst total cell number.


RESULTS
Quality control by MEA and HuSMA identified two glove brands to be nontoxic.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study shows that gloves used in ART can be toxic and should be tested as part of an ongoing quality control program.
Lierman
Sylvie
S
Infertility Centre, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium. Sylvie.lierman@ugent.be
De Sutter
Petra
P
Dhont
Marc
M
Van der Elst
Josiane
J
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D017575:Gloves, Protective / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000592:standards*; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D011786:Quality Control; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000592:standards*; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000379:methods