A study on the effect of the number of expansion units in a microfluidic chip on hyaluronidase-free oocyte denudation in mammals

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) are well-known fertility treatments that, due to resource-intensive, high degree of expertise required, and frequent subpar performances, often yield in high costs for treatment cycles. Microfluidic technology has enabled cost-...

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Main Authors: Dessouky Ashraf Hisham, EL-Hussieny Haitham, EL-Sherry Taymour Mohammed, Parque Victor, Fath El-Bab Ahmed M. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sciendo 2025-03-01
Series:Journal of Electrical Bioimpedance
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2478/joeb-2025-0004
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author Dessouky Ashraf Hisham
EL-Hussieny Haitham
EL-Sherry Taymour Mohammed
Parque Victor
Fath El-Bab Ahmed M. R.
author_facet Dessouky Ashraf Hisham
EL-Hussieny Haitham
EL-Sherry Taymour Mohammed
Parque Victor
Fath El-Bab Ahmed M. R.
author_sort Dessouky Ashraf Hisham
collection DOAJ
description In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) are well-known fertility treatments that, due to resource-intensive, high degree of expertise required, and frequent subpar performances, often yield in high costs for treatment cycles. Microfluidic technology has enabled cost-effective egg-handling procedures towards new assistive reproductive devices: oocytes are subjected to microchannels with jagged surfaces to let shear stress remove undesirable cumulus cells, and microchannels with expansion units facilitate the transport of oocytes in chips. However, although the previous works have studied the influence of shear stress on oocyte denudation and the role of microchannel teeth in optimizing cell handling efficiency, the study of configurations of jagged surfaces and expansion units in microfluidic devices has remained elusive. Also, comprehensive analysis using both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and real-world microfluidic devices has remained an unexplored area. To fill the abovementioned gap, this paper studies microfluidics chips with different expansion units to depict the behavior of oocytes when subjected to controlled input flows. The proposed chips were developed and fabricated using a direct engraving CO2 laser machine on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) sheets and bonded in a natural ventilation lab oven, rendering the highly efficient and low-cost microfluidic chips for oocyte denudation. The effect of the expansion units has been investigated in CFD simulation and real lab experimentation with mature buffalo oocytes at a constant flow rate, and a chip with five expansion units arranged in two lines achieved 98.33% denudation efficiency, low-cost fabrication (about 1 USD), and quick fabrication time (about 20 minutes).
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 1891-5469
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publishDate 2025-03-01
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record_format Article
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spelling doaj-art-4853ff075ce94379b65f2068bb450fbd2025-08-20T03:43:45ZengSciendoJournal of Electrical Bioimpedance1891-54692025-03-01161233410.2478/joeb-2025-0004A study on the effect of the number of expansion units in a microfluidic chip on hyaluronidase-free oocyte denudation in mammalsDessouky Ashraf Hisham0EL-Hussieny Haitham1EL-Sherry Taymour Mohammed2Parque Victor3Fath El-Bab Ahmed M. R.4Department of Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), Alexandria21934, EgyptDepartment of Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), Alexandria21934, EgyptDepartment of Theriogenology, Veterinary Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Assiut University, EgyptGraduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University, 1-4-1 Kagamiyama, HigashiHiroshima739-8527JapanDepartment of Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), Alexandria21934, EgyptIn Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) are well-known fertility treatments that, due to resource-intensive, high degree of expertise required, and frequent subpar performances, often yield in high costs for treatment cycles. Microfluidic technology has enabled cost-effective egg-handling procedures towards new assistive reproductive devices: oocytes are subjected to microchannels with jagged surfaces to let shear stress remove undesirable cumulus cells, and microchannels with expansion units facilitate the transport of oocytes in chips. However, although the previous works have studied the influence of shear stress on oocyte denudation and the role of microchannel teeth in optimizing cell handling efficiency, the study of configurations of jagged surfaces and expansion units in microfluidic devices has remained elusive. Also, comprehensive analysis using both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and real-world microfluidic devices has remained an unexplored area. To fill the abovementioned gap, this paper studies microfluidics chips with different expansion units to depict the behavior of oocytes when subjected to controlled input flows. The proposed chips were developed and fabricated using a direct engraving CO2 laser machine on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) sheets and bonded in a natural ventilation lab oven, rendering the highly efficient and low-cost microfluidic chips for oocyte denudation. The effect of the expansion units has been investigated in CFD simulation and real lab experimentation with mature buffalo oocytes at a constant flow rate, and a chip with five expansion units arranged in two lines achieved 98.33% denudation efficiency, low-cost fabrication (about 1 USD), and quick fabrication time (about 20 minutes).https://doi.org/10.2478/joeb-2025-0004microfluidicoocyte denudationco2 laserin vitro fertilizationexpansion units
spellingShingle Dessouky Ashraf Hisham
EL-Hussieny Haitham
EL-Sherry Taymour Mohammed
Parque Victor
Fath El-Bab Ahmed M. R.
A study on the effect of the number of expansion units in a microfluidic chip on hyaluronidase-free oocyte denudation in mammals
Journal of Electrical Bioimpedance
microfluidic
oocyte denudation
co2 laser
in vitro fertilization
expansion units
title A study on the effect of the number of expansion units in a microfluidic chip on hyaluronidase-free oocyte denudation in mammals
title_full A study on the effect of the number of expansion units in a microfluidic chip on hyaluronidase-free oocyte denudation in mammals
title_fullStr A study on the effect of the number of expansion units in a microfluidic chip on hyaluronidase-free oocyte denudation in mammals
title_full_unstemmed A study on the effect of the number of expansion units in a microfluidic chip on hyaluronidase-free oocyte denudation in mammals
title_short A study on the effect of the number of expansion units in a microfluidic chip on hyaluronidase-free oocyte denudation in mammals
title_sort study on the effect of the number of expansion units in a microfluidic chip on hyaluronidase free oocyte denudation in mammals
topic microfluidic
oocyte denudation
co2 laser
in vitro fertilization
expansion units
url https://doi.org/10.2478/joeb-2025-0004
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