Evaluation of Mouse Oocyte In Vitro Maturation Developmental Competency in Dynamic Culture Systems by Design and Construction of A Lab on A Chip Device and Its Comparison with Conventional Culture System

In conventional assisted reproductive technology (ART), oocytes are cultured in static microdrops within Petri dishes that contain vast amounts of media. However, the in vivo environment is dynamic. This study assesses in vitro oocyte maturation through the use of a new microfluidic device. We evaluate oocyte fertilization to the blastocyct stage and their glutathione (GSH) contents in each experimental group.
In this experimental study, we established a dynamic culture condition. Immature oocytes were harvested from ovaries of Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) mice. Oocytes were randomly placed in static (passive) and dynamic (active) in vitro maturation (IVM) culture medium for 24 hours. In vitro matured oocytes underwent fertilization, after which we placed the pronucleus (PN) stage embryos in microdrops and followed their developmental stages to blastocyst formation after 3 days. GSH content of the in vitro matured oocytes was assessed by monochlorobimane (MCB) staining.
We observed significantly higher percentages of mature metaphase II oocytes (MII) in the passive and active dynamic culture systems (DCS) compared to the static group (P Dynamic culture for in vitro oocyte maturation improves their developmental competency in comparison with static culture conditions.