Copper Iontophoresis in Male Contraception

Abstract

With the increasing population, the control of fertility is a major problem. Various contraceptive methods have been devised for control of fertility in females but limited work has been done in males. Though vasectomy has been widely publicised but due to the side effects, and problems in reversal it is popular in underdeveloped countries only (Leader et al. -1974).Various sclerosing agents have been tried in animals for control of fertility but these methods are also irreversible (Freeman and Coffee -1973;Setty et al. -1972). Intravasal devices like silk thread or copper wire have been tested in animals (Ahsan et al. -1976;Sud and Chandra -1977). The silk thread is not very effective and it is difficult to retain the copper wire in the vas deferens without complications for a longer period (Shahani et al. -1975). The aim of the present study was to deposit copper by iontophoresis technique keeping the vasal lumen patent and its contraceptive effect being achieved in rats and rabbits.Materials and Methods 28 adult male albino rats weighing over 300 gms were utilized as the test animals. They were fed on pellet diet. The animals were divided into following groups: A -Control -7 animals B -Copper ionized for 30 sec, current 1 m. amp. -7 animals C -Copper ionized for 60 sec. current 1 m. amp. -7 animals D -Copper ionized for 90 sec, current 1 m. amp. -7 animals In rabbits weighing over 1.8 kg, 7 animals were kept as control and in another batch of 7 animals, copper was ionized for 60 sec with a current of 3 m. amp. Copper ionization procedureused for this purpose. Positive electrode consisted of a pure copper wire, 0.45 mm in diameter and the negative electrode was also made of copper wire 0.7 mm diameter. Both these electrodes were sharpened at their tips to allow easy penetration into the tissues. The positive electrode was well insulated except at the tip to avoid any injury to the vasal wall when the current is passed. After mid-abdominal incision, middle segment of vas deferens was picked up. Two clamps were applied lightly, leaving approximately half cm. of vas deferens in between the clamps and 0.01 ml of 0.1% copper sulphate was injected into the vasal loop and through the same opening, the positive electrode was passed, takmg care that the portion of the electrode touching the wall is insulated. The negative electrode Ionization apparatus described in detail in our previous study (Riar et al. -1981) was

Level of Copper in Human Split Ejaculate

“…Adverse effect of copper on sperm was known (13,(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44). Considering the toxicity of copper on sperm, a male contraceptive was proposed (37,(45)(46)(47)(48)(49).…”