Sperm activation through orbital and self-axis revolutions using an artificial cilia embedded serpentine microfluidic platform

Abstract

The zebrafish sperm activation profoundly depends upon the homogeneous mixing of the sperm cells with its diluent in a quick succession as it alters the cell's extracellular medium and initiates their motility. Manual stirring, the traditional method for zebrafish sperm activation is tedious, time-consuming, and has a poor outcome. In this aspect, an artificial cilia embedded serpentine microfluidic is designed through which hydrodynamic factors of the microfluidic environment can be precisely regulated to harness uniform mixing, hence ensuring a superior sperm activation. To quantify the sperm motility, computer assisted sperm analysis software (CASA) was used whereas to quantify the generated flow field, micro particle image velocimetry (μPIV) was used. With this proposed microfluidic, 74.4% of the zebrafish sperm were activated which is 20% higher than its currently existing manual measurements. The μPIV analysis demonstrates that the curvature of the microchannel induces an orbital rotation to the flow field along the length of the microchannel together with the artificial cilia actuation which instigates a local rotation to the flow field of the artificial cilia location. The collective rotation in the whole flow field induce vorticity that promotes the change in temporal dynamics of the sperm cells towards their activation.