Abstract
Optimizing sperm performance can be a differentiating factor in clinical pregnancy rates for assisted reproductive technology (ART) laboratories. Minimizing cellular stress during routine sperm processing by maintaining a precise and stable environment is of great importance in the field. In commercial media, pH of the external cellular culture environment (pHe) is typically maintained at 7.2-7.4 by various buffering reagents, while the internal pH of the cell (pHi) depends on available lactate and amino acids. Combining buffers in solution has been previously shown to be valuable for stabilizing internal and external pH for various biological systems. We hypothesized that a dual-buffer culture medium might improve sperm performance for ART. Here we demonstrate superior performance of a commercially available dual-buffer solution of HEPES and MOPS: Multipurpose Handling Medium (MHM, Irvine Scientific). Significantly better performance, assessed at 8 and 48 hours, and measured as: sperm viability, total motility, and rapid forward progression, was observed for MHM over single buffer controls.
Highlights
Achieving and maintaining high pregnancy rates is a top priority for embryology labs and fertility practices
Human sperm handling procedures for assisted reproductive technology (ART) are commonly performed under atmospheric conditions, where temperature and CO2, play a significant role in regulating pH
Recent evidence supports the notion that combining HEPES: MOPS may allow for improved media formulations
Summary
Achieving and maintaining high pregnancy rates is a top priority for embryology labs and fertility practices. Optimizing sperm performance can be a key differentiating factor in achieving better clinical pregnancy rates. Human sperm handling procedures for ART are commonly performed under atmospheric conditions, where temperature and CO2, play a significant role in regulating pH. Maintaining a precise and stable pH balance is challenging, as even minor environmental fluctuations can negatively impair human sperm function. HEPES and MOPS are zwitter ionic organic buffers with pKa at 20 °C of ~7.55 and 7.15, respectively. They have been extensively studied in numerous ART-related processes, including: sperm isolation, oocyte retrieval, ICSI, embryo biopsy, embryo transfer, and cryopreservation. Recent evidence supports the notion that combining HEPES: MOPS may allow for improved media formulations
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