Double-quality control reveals high-level toxicity in gloves used for operator protection in assisted reproductive technology.

OBJECTIVE

To submit different glove brands to double-quality control tests using mouse embryo assay (MEA) and the human sperm motility assay (HuSMA). Operator protection against infectious body fluid contamination is a safety issue in assisted reproductive technology (ART). When using gloves in the ART laboratory, toxic substances can be transmitted to culture media, even during brief contact.

DESIGN

Quality control study of gloves in ART.

SETTING

University hospital-based infertility center.

ANIMAL(S): Seven- to 8-week-old female B6D2F1 hybrid mice.

INTERVENTION(S): We tested two surgical, two cleanroom, and six examination glove brands. Only gloves brands that passed both HuSMA and MEA were submitted to further QC using zona-free and/or cryopreserved MEA.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Sperm motility index, two-cell and blastocyst development, blastocyst total cell number.

RESULT(S): Quality control by MEA and HuSMA identified two glove brands to be nontoxic.

CONCLUSION(S): Our study shows that gloves used in ART can be toxic and should be tested as part of an ongoing quality control program.