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J Assist Reprod Genet (2011) 28:711724 DOI 10.1007/s10815-011-9582-0
TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS
Biological pH buffers in IVF: help or hindrance to success
Matthew A. Will & Natalie A. Clark & Jason E. Swain
Received: 24 March 2011 /Accepted: 13 May 2011 /Published online: 26 May 2011 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011
AbstractPurpose Minimizing environmental stress helps maintain cellular homeostasis and is a crucial component in optimizing embryo development in vitro and resulting ART success. One stressor of particular interest is pH. Biologic buffers, such as HEPES and MOPS, are valuable tools for stabilizing pH. The objective of this manuscript is to summarize efficacy and impact of various pH buffers used during IVF lab proceduresMethods Keyword searches were performed using Pubmed and Medline and relevant literature reviewed.
Results Various pH buffers have been used with varying degrees of success for gamete and embryo processing in a variety of animal species, as well as in human. Conclusion Though biologic buffers off a means to improve pH stability, not all buffers may be appropriate for use with gametes and embryos. Specific buffers may have undesired effects, and these may be buffer, species, cell type or concentration dependent. Continued research is needed to further refine and improve the use of biologic buffers for use in human ART.
Keywords pH . Zwitterion . Goods buffer. Gamete .
Embryo
Introduction
Since the first reports of culturing embryos in media formulated for somatic cells [1, 2], several improvements have occurred to vastly improve embryo culture conditions in vitro. Detailed studies on embryo metabolism, examination of tubal fluid composition and other physiologic, molecular and biochemical insights have led to improved modifications of media formulations. This has resulted in several excellent culture media, both mono and sequential systems, giving laboratories multiple choices in terms of selection of ingredients such as glucose concentration or amino acid complement [318]. However, despite the number of options in regard to substrate selection for embryo culture media for use within the laboratory incubator, the ability to select from a variety of pH buffers in handling media for use outside the incubator is extremely limited.
To be clear, pH is an important variable in the culture environment. External pH of culture media (pHe) influences sperm binding and motility [79], oocyte maturation...