Lower reactive oxygen species production and faster swimming speed of human sperm cells on nanodiamond spin‐coated glass substrates

Abstract

The sperm selection stage is what assisted reproductive technologies have in common and is crucial as it affects the success of the treatment cycle. The employment of microfluidic platforms for sperm selection has emerged showing promising results. In microfluidic platforms, sperm cells encounter micro‐confined environments meanwhile having contact with channel walls and surfaces. Modification of contact surfaces using nanoparticles leads to the alteration of surface characteristics which in turn affects sperm behavior especially motility which is an indicator for sperm health. In this article, we present the results of investigating the motility parameters of sperm cells in contact with surface‐modified glass substrates using nanodiamond particles. The results show that the sperm swimming velocities are significantly improved within the range of 12%–52% compared to the control surface (untreated). Reactive oxygen species production is also decreased by 14% justifying the increase in swimming speed. Taken together, bonding these modified surfaces to sperm selection microfluidic devices could enhance their efficiency and further improve their outcomes offering new solutions to patients facing infertility.

Disposable paper-based microfluidics for fertility testing

“…Translating recent developments in microfluidics to paper-based systems can help improve efficiency, precision, and accuracy of paper-based male fertility tests and sperm sorting applications. A surface-modified glass substrate was fabricated using nanodiamond particles and the velocity of sperm cells in contact with the modified surface was improved 12%–52% compared to those in contact with untreated surfaces ( Lesani et al., 2022 ). Additionally, a 14% decrease in ROS was observed as a result of the use of nanodiamond particles.…”

Embryonic development through in vitro fertilization using high-quality bovine sperm separated in a biomimetic cervix environment

“…For instance, applying nanodiamond coating technology to fluid channels can increase the speed of sperm swimming in the channel, which can be used for sperm separation. 11 However, the interaction of nanodiamond with the differential maturity stages (uncapacitated and capacitated) of sperm and their subsequent effects on sperm characteristics is not well understood, making clinical application challenging. 12 In microfluidic technology, micro-structures formed in channels can separate sperm depending on their motility, [13][14][15][16][17][18] and the rheotaxis, which guides sperm's stream against the flow, can be utilized in microchannels to obtain highly motile sperm.…”

“…For instance, applying nanodiamond coating technology to fluid channels can increase the speed of sperm swimming in the channel, which can be used for sperm separation. 11 However, the interaction of nanodiamond with the differential maturity stages (uncapacitated and capacitated) of sperm and their subsequent effects on sperm characteristics is not well understood, making clinical application challenging. 12…”