Detection of alterations in human sperm using magnetic orientation techniques

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this study we report on magnetic orientation of human sperms. Samples were taken from 17 donors. Normal human sperms became oriented with th eir long axis perpendicular to the magnetic field ( 1 Tesla maximum). Total orientation was achieved with magnetic field at about one Tesla, while for abnormal sperms the magnetic behavior was different. The dependence of the measured degree of orientation on the intensity of the magnetic field was in good agreement with the theoretical equation for the magnetic orientation of diamagnetic substances. As a result for a numerical analysis based on the equation, the anisotropic diamagnetic susceptibility of normal sperm was found to be u$ = 8 ×10 -20 J/T 2 . The degree of orientation was influenced by the alterations in the shape of the head, body or the tail. It has been suggested that the DNA in the sperm head retain the strong magnetic anisotropy to counter balance the magnetic anisotropy retained by flagellum microtubules. Recent studies demonstrated a well-defined nuclear architecture in human sperm nucleus, where the head morphology has significant correlation with sperm chromatin structur e assay SCSA. Then as the methods to evaluate SCSA can be difficult and expensive our simple magnetic orientation technique can be an alternative to diagnose alteration in DNA. Keywords: Human sperm, magnetic orientation, diamagnetic susceptibility