Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (6)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Schuster, T. G.
Right arrow Articles by Smith, G. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Schuster, T. G.
Right arrow Articles by Smith, G. D.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Human Reproduction, Vol. 18, No. 4, 788-795, April 2003
© 2003 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Ultra-rapid freezing of very low numbers of sperm using cryoloops

Timothy G. Schuster1, Laura M. Keller2, Rodney L. Dunn1, Dana A. Ohl1 and Gary D. Smith1,2,3,4

Departments of 1 Urology, 2 Obstetrics and Gynecology and 3 Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

4 To whom correspondence should be addressed. e-mail: gdsmith{at}umich.edu

BACKGROUND: With the availability of ICSI, men with severe oligozoospermia (<5x106/ml) are able to reproduce. Current methods for cryopreservation of severe oligozoospermic samples are labour intensive and costly. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether freezing small numbers of motile sperm (~100) was feasible using cryoloops. METHODS: Initial tests assessed the effect of various dilutions of cryoprotectants on pre-freezing sperm motility. Several solutions were further evaluated for their ability to cryoprotect sperm during ultra-rapid freezing. Sperm were placed on cryoloops and held in liquid nitrogen vapour for 5 min prior to freezing (ultra-rapid freezing) or directly submerged into liquid nitrogen. Using the optimal cryoprotectant and technique from these experiments, ultra-rapid and standard slow-rate freezing protocols were compared. RESULTS: Optimal sperm survival was seen when sperm in cryoloops were placed in liquid nitrogen vapour in test yolk buffer with 12% v/v glycerol versus other cryoprotectants. Using this cryoprotectant, post-thaw sperm motility is comparable between ultra-rapid and slow-rate freezing methods. CONCLUSION: Ultra-rapid freezing of very low numbers of sperm is feasible using cryoloops suspended in liquid nitrogen vapour for 5 min.

Key words: cryopreservation/oligozoospermia/sperm/ultra-rapid freezing


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Hum Reprod UpdateHome page
F. AbdelHafez, M. Bedaiwy, S. A. El-Nashar, E. Sabanegh, and N. Desai
Techniques for cryopreservation of individual or small numbers of human spermatozoa: a systematic review
Hum. Reprod. Update, March 1, 2009; 15(2): 153 - 164.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
G.J. Morris
Rapidly cooled human sperm: no evidence of intracellular ice formation
Hum. Reprod., August 1, 2006; 21(8): 2075 - 2083.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum Reprod UpdateHome page
T. Ebner, M. Moser, and G. Tews
Possible applications of a non-contact 1.48 {micro}m wavelength diode laser in assisted reproduction technologies
Hum. Reprod. Update, July 1, 2005; 11(4): 425 - 435.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
E. Isachenko, V. Isachenko, I.I. Katkov, G. Rahimi, T. Schondorf, P. Mallmann, S. Dessole, and F. Nawroth
DNA integrity and motility of human spermatozoa after standard slow freezing versus cryoprotectant-free vitrification
Hum. Reprod., April 1, 2004; 19(4): 932 - 939.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.