Microfluidics to help IVF

Microfluidic devices could soon be improving the success of in vitro fertilisation, according to a team of scientists from the universities of Illinois and Wisconsin, US.

Traditionally, embryos produced in vitro have a smaller chance of successful development than those conceived in vivo, and scientists have long been working to improve the process. Most research has focused on the solution in which the embryo is growing, but more recent work has also looked at the physics of the space surrounding the cells.

The researchers, led by Matthew Wheeler, found that two-cell mouse embryos placed in a microchannel fared better than those cultured conventionally. Microdevices made from polydimethylsiloxane and borosilicate were particularly successful. After 96 hours of development, nearly 23 per cent fewer embryos failed to develop at all, while almost 30 per cent more progressed to the advanced stages of formation. ’We believe we have laid the foundation for the use of microfluidic technology for in vivo production of mammalian embryos’, says Wheeler.

Ian Farrell