Ak Aslı, Coonen Edith, van Golde Ron, Vrij Erik
Department of Cell Biology-Inspired Tissue Engineering (cBITE), MERLN Institue for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229 ET, The Netherlands.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, GROW Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229 ET, The Netherlands.
Adv Healthc Mater. 2025 Aug;14(21):e2500918. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202500918. Epub 2025 Jun 16.
Infertility affects ≈17.5% of the adult population worldwide, posing significant clinical, emotional, and socioeconomic challenges. Recent advances at the intersection of reproductive medicine and bioengineering offer promising avenues to enhance assisted reproductive technologies (ART). This review synthesizes emerging microengineered and stem cell-based platforms designed to improve key ART stages from gamete handling and fertilization to embryo culture and implantation. State-of-the-art microfluidic systems that refine sperm selection by leveraging directional behavioral responses, enhancing motility, and preserving DNA integrity is discussed. Moreover, devices for oocyte denudation and cryopreservation have been developed to mitigate cellular stress associated with conventional processing techniques. While microengineered platforms demonstrate promise in sperm sorting and reducing stress on gametes, their broader application in ART, particularly for oocyte handling and embryo culture, requires further development. The review further addresses stem cell-based embryo models and bioengineered endometrial platforms, which aim to recapitulate the dynamic in vivo microenvironments needed for successful fertilization, embryo development, and implantation. Despite encouraging preliminary results, challenges such as scalability, reproducibility, clinical validation, and ethical considerations remain. By identifying these gaps and proposing future directions, this review considers integrating microengineering and bioengineering approaches to streamline ART procedures, ultimately enabling more personalized and effective reproductive therapies.
不孕症影响着全球约17.5%的成年人口，带来了重大的临床、情感和社会经济挑战。生殖医学与生物工程交叉领域的最新进展为改进辅助生殖技术（ART）提供了有前景的途径。本综述综合了新兴的微工程和基于干细胞的平台，这些平台旨在改善从配子处理、受精到胚胎培养和植入等ART关键阶段。讨论了通过利用定向行为反应、增强活力和保持DNA完整性来优化精子选择的先进微流控系统。此外，还开发了用于卵母细胞去卵丘和冷冻保存的设备，以减轻与传统处理技术相关的细胞应激。虽然微工程平台在精子分选和减轻配子应激方面显示出前景，但其在ART中的更广泛应用，特别是在卵母细胞处理和胚胎培养方面，还需要进一步发展。本综述还探讨了基于干细胞的胚胎模型和生物工程子宫内膜平台，其旨在重现成功受精、胚胎发育和植入所需的动态体内微环境。尽管取得了令人鼓舞的初步结果，但仍存在可扩展性、可重复性、临床验证和伦理考量等挑战。通过识别这些差距并提出未来方向，本综述考虑整合微工程和生物工程方法以简化ART程序，最终实现更个性化和有效的生殖治疗。
