Significant improvement of sperm motility parameters through surface modification with Nano Diamond particles

Abstract

The employment of Nanotechnology as a valuable tool could be beneficial to patients and also offer new alternatives for Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). Surface modification by nanoparticles leads to the alteration of surface characteristics (e.g. roughness, elasticity, and surface charge). These alterations affect sperm behavior especially its motility since sperms exhibit wall following behavior and surface accumulation. Moreover, surface modification is an attempt towards mimicking the complex in vivo environment of the female tract (highly folded and ciliated) with continually changing surface topology and also its functions. In this paper, we present the results of investigating the interactions between sperm cells and surface modified substrates using Nano diamond particles. A combinational and low-cost method was used for modification. The results show that the sperm motility parameters are significantly improved from 5 to 85%. Also, the results indicate that in optimized surface modification condition, the sperms swim faster and straighter and the surface facilitates the swimming due to the inherent characteristics of ND particles. Taken together, the replacement of normal with modified surfaces in fertility-aid microfluidic devices can enhance their efficiency and further improve their outcomes.