APPLICATIONS OF A MICROFABRICATED DEVICE FOR EVALUATING SPERM FUNCTION

Mesoscale structures (mum dimensions, nL-pL volumes) have been designe d and fabricated in silicon for use in various analytical tasks. We st udied sperm motility and performed sperm selection in channels (80 mum wide x 20 mum deep), branching structures (40 mum wide x 20 mum deep, eight bifurcations), and channels containing barriers (7 mum feature size). Sperm-cervical mucus and sperm-hyaluronic acid interactions wer e assessed by using appropriate microchannel-chamber structures filled with either cervical mucus or hyaluronic acid. Simultaneous assessmen t of the potency of different spermicides (e.g., nonoxynol-9, C13G) an d spermicide concentrations was achieved with structures comprising ch ambers containing spermicide connected via channels to a central chamb er into which semen was introduced. Semen was also tested for the pres ence of sperm-specific antibodies by using microchannels filled with h uman anti-IgG antibody-coated microbeads.