title: Better IVF outcomes following improvements in laboratory air quality.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It has been proved that air quality is crucial for the success of IVF because of the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), microbes, and perfumes, all of which can be harmful to embryo development in vitro. Therefore IVF laboratories are equipped with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA), and activated carbon filters plus positive pressure for air particulate control, with or without CODA system. Here we introduce a new technology using specially treated Honeycomb matrix media aligned in the Landson ™ series system for our laboratory air purification and its impact on IVF outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Air samples were collected outside and inside the laboratory, and intra-incubator at three different time points, before and after changing carbon filters and after Landson system installation, and we correlated air compounds measure variation with IVF outcome from 1403 cycles.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An improvement of air quality was confirmed with passages of total VOCs from 0.42 mg/m(3), 30.48 mg/m(3), 9.62 mg/m3, to 0.1 mg/m(3), 2.5 mg/m(3), 2.19 mg/m(3) through 0.07 mg/m(3), 0.16 mg/m(3), 0.29 mg/m(3), outside the laboratory, inside laboratory and intra-incubator respectively at three separated air sampling times. A clear decrease was observed in some VOCs such as formaldehyde, ethylene, acethylene, propylene, SO2, pentane, NOx, benzene, Hallon-1211, CFC and alcohol. At the same time a significant difference (P<0.05) was found between the third testing time TT3 after carbon filter change and Landson system installation and the first testing time TT1 before carbon filter change in fertilization rate 83.7 % vs 70.1 %, embryo cleavage rate 97.35 % vs 90.8 %, day 5 blastocyst formation rate 51.1 % vs 41.7 %, and pregnancy/implantation rates 54.6 %, 34.4 % vs 40.6 %, 26.4 %.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Air purification by the new technology of Landson ™ series significantly improved IVF laboratory air quality, and embryo quality, thus increased pregnancy and implantation rates.
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of SUN Yat-sen University, 58 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, China, 510080.
authors.forename: Rabea Youcef
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Khoudja
authors.forename: Yanwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Canquan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D061808:Air Filters / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology; D010064:Embryo Implantation; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005030:Ethylenes / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods*; D005374:Filtration / Q000379:methods; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D005030:Ethylenes; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D005557:Formaldehyde; C036216:ethylene