Shi Yang, Shao Xiaoguang
Medical Center for Reproductive and Genetic Research, Dalian Municipal Women and Children's Medical Center, Dalian 116037, China.
Se Pu. 2019 Sep 8;37(9):925-931. doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1123.2019.01036.
Reproduction is one of the most basic characteristics of organisms, and the guarantee of the continuation and evolution of a species. As the country with world's largest population, China has been gradually increasing its investment in research on the reproductive system in recent years, particularly in the field of basic research. The rapid development and wide application of the microfluidic technology since its birth are sufficient to explain its application prospect. Currently, infertility and birth defects are major problems in the field of reproduction. Micro-reproductive technologies, including microfluidic and organs-on-chips, are formed through the combination of a wide range of basic science and bioengineering technologies. In reproductive research, microfluidic technology display several advantages:flexible design of the microchannel shape and size to better simulate the physiological environment, the low consumption of microfluidic chip, and highly integrated microfluidic technology. Microfluidic technology has been applied to various processes including sperm vitality evaluation and screening, sperm chemotaxis, cumulus oophorus cell removal, zona pellucida removal, ootid localization and screening, fertilization, early embryo culture and reproductive organ simulation. This paper introduces the recent progress in reproductive research based on microfluidic technology and its application prospects.
生殖是生物体最基本的特征之一，是物种延续和进化的保障。作为世界人口最多的国家，近年来中国对生殖系统研究的投入逐渐增加，尤其是在基础研究领域。微流控技术自诞生以来的迅速发展和广泛应用足以说明其应用前景。目前，不孕不育和出生缺陷是生殖领域的主要问题。包括微流控和芯片器官在内的微生殖技术是通过多种基础科学和生物工程技术相结合而形成的。在生殖研究中，微流控技术具有几个优点：微通道形状和尺寸的灵活设计以更好地模拟生理环境、微流控芯片的低消耗以及高度集成的微流控技术。微流控技术已应用于包括精子活力评估与筛选、精子趋化性、卵丘细胞去除、透明带去除、卵母细胞定位与筛选、受精、早期胚胎培养和生殖器官模拟等各种过程。本文介绍了基于微流控技术的生殖研究最新进展及其应用前景。
