P-20: Efficiency of Magnetic-Activated Cell Sorting System in Separation of Normal Sperm

Background Sperm preparation before assisted reproductive techniques is very important for obtaining successful fertilization and pregnancy. During ICSI technique, sperms are selected based on viability and morphology. But this selection did not guarantee integrity of sperm DNA. Therefore, novel sperm selection procedures are introduced for selection of sperm with low DNA damage. One of these procedures is magnetic-activated cell sorting system (MACS) method based on surface marker. In this study, we compared sperm chromatin, protamine deficiency and morphology between density gradient centrifugation (DGC) and MACS procedures. MaterialsAndMethods Semen samples were obtained from 20 infertile individuals with male factor. Each semen sample was divided into three fractions; first fraction was washed with PBS as unprocessed sample. The second and third fractions were processed by MACS and DGC, respectively. After each fraction, percentage of sperm DNA fragmentation, protamine deficiency and morphology were assessed using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining, chromomycin A3 (CMA3) staining and papanicolaou respectively. Results Percentages of sperm DNA fragmentation, protamine deficiency and abnormal morphology have significantly decreased after MACS and DGC procedures compared to unprocessed sample (P