A temperature control system integrated with a microfluidic chip for sperm analysis
A temperature control system integrated with a microfluidic chip for sperm analysis
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DOI：
10.1117/12.822762
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发表时间：
2008-12
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Chao Han;Jing Cheng
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Chao Han;Jing Cheng
微流控技术已得到广泛应用；然而，这项技术在精子健康评估领域的推广受到限制。对于该应用，将微环境维持在有利于配子活动的温度至关重要。虽然目前一些现有的商用显微镜配备了培养箱，但它们相对昂贵，缺乏微流控操作的灵活性和便利性。在这里，我们报告了使用定制温度控制系统在微流控芯片上进行的精子分析。该系统由底部有窗口的水室、Pt100温度传感器、温度控制模块、一组Peltier元件和直流电源组成。将聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）微流控芯片封装并浸入水室中，使用注射器通过硅胶管将精子加载到芯片中。然后通过显微镜观察评估精子活力的结果。该温度控制系统经济高效、便于携带，并与不同类型的倒置光学显微镜兼容。实验还表明，该系统能够为微流控精子分析提供稳定、准确、均匀的温度环境。
Microfluidic technology has found many applications; yet, the extension of this technology into the area of sperm health evaluation has been limited. For this application, the need to maintain the microenvironment at a temperature conducive for gamete activity is of crucial importance. Although some existing commercial microscopes are currently equipped with incubators, they are relatively expensive, lack flexibility and convenience for microfluidic operations. Here we report the sperm analysis on a microfluidic chip using a custom-made temperature control system. The system consists of a water chamber with a window at the bottom, a Pt100 temperature sensor, a temperature control module, a set of Peltier elements, and a DC power supply. A Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chip was packaged and immersed in the water chamber, with sperm loaded into the chip through a silicone tube using a syringe. The results of sperm motility were then evaluated via microscopic observation. This temperature control system is cost-effective, portable, and compatible with different kinds of inverted optical microscopes. Experiments also demonstrate that the system can provide the stable, accurate and uniform temperature environment necessary for microfluidic sperm analysis.