The invention relates to an oocyte-holding pipette for sperm injection methods without cytoplasmic aspiration, comprising an elongate, narrow, hollow, cylindrical body, inside which runs a suction conduit that communicates with a working end in order to hold an oocyte, said working end being flared to form a funnel defining an internal conical cavity, the proximal end of which, of smaller diameter, communicates with the suction conduit and the distal end of which, of larger diameter, is dimensioned to receive the oocyte in a tight-fitting manner, such that, upon aspirating same via the suction conduit, the oocyte remains partially trapped inside and becomes deformed, changing from its spherical shape in the resting state to an oval shape that tensions the surface and increases the turgor.

Provided is a microfluidic chip for physicochemically treating a single cell whose diameter is 50-400 micrometers. The body of the microfluidic chip comprises a fluidic layer, a pneumatic layer, and an elastic film sandwiched between the fluidic layer and the pneumatic layer; the fluidic layer comprises a switch-back single cell treating and retrieving channel, a first reagent inflow channel, a second reagent inflow channel, a reagent mixing channel, a third reagent inflow channel, a backwash channel, and a negative pressure and waste liquid sharing channel; the pneumatic layer comprises a pneumatic micro-valve group for controlling the opening and closing of each channel in the fluidic layer; the first reagent inflow channel and the second reagent inflow channel are separately connected with the inlet of the reagent mixing channel; the reagent mixing channel, the third reagent inflow channel, the backwash channel, and the negative pressure and waste liquid sharing channel are separately connected with the switch-back single cell treating and retrieving channel; and the third reagent inflow channel and the backwash channel are separately independent channels or share one channel. Also provided is a microfluidic device comprising the microfluidic chip and a method for physicochemically treating a single cell by using the microfluidic chip and the microfluidic device.

A device for culturing specimens may include a housing and a conveyor disposed within the housing, where the conveyor is translatable in vertical directions. The device may further include a plurality of plate holders disposed along a length of the conveyor, such that each plate holder of the plurality of plate holders can be moved to different positions along the length of the conveyor by a translation of the conveyor in the vertical directions. The device may further include an isolation chamber movable between a first position and a second position. The isolation chamber may include an opening and a door. The isolation chamber may be configured such that when the isolation chamber is in the second position, a first plate holder of the plurality of plate holders is isolated from a rest of the housing by the isolation chamber.

A system and method for sorting sperm is provided. The system includes a housing and a microfluidic system supported by the housing. The system also includes an inlet providing access to the microfluidic system to deliver sperm to the microfluidic system and an outlet providing access to the microfluidic system to harvest sorted sperm from the microfluidic system. The microfluidic system provides a flow path for sperm from the inlet to the outlet and includes at least one channel extending from the inlet to the outlet to allow sperm delivered to the microfluidic system through the inlet to progress along the flow path toward the outlet. The microfluidic system also includes a filter including a first plurality of micropores arranged in the flow path between the inlet and the outlet to cause sperm traveling along the flow path to move against through the filter and gravity to reach the outlet.

A device for in vitro culture of embryos includes: an array having at least one well formed therein; and a bottom surface formed in the well and made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The use of the culture vessel having the well bottom surface made of PDMS has the effect of further increasing the blastocyst formation rate of embryos compared to the use of conventional arrays made of plastic.

This disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for sorting motile sperms from crude semen. the enrichment of a population of spermatozoa with capacitated spermatozoa can be achieved by providing a 1-to-4-degree vertical temperature difference in combination with the swim-up method.

Disclosed herein are microfluidic devices and methods for denudation of biological materials, such as oocytes and embryos. For example, the devices and methods achieve separation of oocytes from surrounding cumulus cells in a fully automated manner and without manual intervention. The devices can facilitate continuous uni-directional fluid flow, as well as a bi-directional fluid flow mechanism that closely mimics manual methods.

An information processing apparatus according to the present technology includes an acquisition section and a prediction section. The acquisition section acquires a plurality of chronologically captured observation images of a fertilized egg, and culture environment information regarding the fertilized egg. Using the plurality of observation images and the culture environment information, the prediction section predicts a period of time necessary until the fertilized egg reaches a specified form of development, and a quality of the fertilized egg in the form of development.

Systems for sorting sperm include a housing and a microfluidic system supported by the housing. The systems also include two or more inlets providing access to the microfluidic system to deliver sperm or semen and fluid to the microfluidic system, as well as an outlet for harvesting sorted sperm. The systems include a flow channel that provides a flow path for sperm from an inlet to an outlet while sperm travels against a fluid flow towards an outlet for harvesting. In the systems, fluid delivered to the microfluidic system via an inlet flows from the inlet towards one or more outlets, and the flow channel extending along the length of the microfluidic system provides a flow path for motile sperm to travel against the fluid flow towards a collection outlet for harvesting. In some embodiments of a system, the microfluidic system also includes a microporous filter arranged in the flow path between the inlet and the collection outlet to cause motile sperm traveling against the fluid flow to pass through the filter to reach the collection outlet for harvesting.

A system and method for sorting sperm is provided. The system includes a housing and a microfluidic system supported by the housing. The system also includes an inlet providing access to the microfluidic system to deliver sperm to the microfluidic system and an outlet providing access to the microfluidic system to harvest sorted sperm from the microfluidic system. The microfluidic system provides a flow path for sperm from the inlet to the outlet and includes at least one channel extending from the inlet to the outlet to allow sperm delivered to the microfluidic system through the inlet to progress along the flow path toward the outlet. The microfluidic system also includes a filter including a first plurality of micropores arranged in the flow path between the inlet and the outlet to cause sperm traveling along the flow path to move against through the filter and gravity to reach the outlet.