title: Integration of single oocyte trapping, in vitro fertilization and embryo culture in a microwell-structured microfluidic device.
abstract: In vitro fertilization (IVF) therapy is an important treatment for human infertility. However, the methods for clinical IVF have only changed slightly over decades: culture medium is held in oil-covered drops in Petri dishes and manipulation occurs by manual pipetting. Here we report a novel microwell-structured microfluidic device that integrates single oocyte trapping, fertilization and subsequent embryo culture. A microwell array was used to capture and hold individual oocytes during the flow-through process of oocyte and sperm loading, medium substitution and debris cleaning. Different microwell depths were compared by computational modeling and flow washing experiments for their effectiveness in oocyte trapping and debris removal. Fertilization was achieved in the microfluidic devices with similar fertilization rates to standard oil-covered drops in Petri dishes. Embryos could be cultured to blastocyst stages in our devices with developmental status individually monitored and tracked. The results suggest that the microfluidic device may bring several advantages to IVF practices by simplifying oocyte handling and manipulation, allowing rapid and convenient medium changing, and enabling automated tracking of any single embryo development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Qiufang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Tian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mitchelson
authors.forename: Jundong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Guoliang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D003470:Culture Media; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006801:Humans; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009865:Oocytes
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media