Media products

• Can purified sperm frozen with SpermCryo™ All-round be used for IUI or IVF?
  
   

  If spermatozoa is purified by use of a gradient centrifugation or swim-up and afterwards frozen in SpermCryo™ All-round, it can be used directly for IUI or IVF directly after thawing without any further preparation. This means that no wash, centrifugation or other procedures are required. The content of HSA in the freezing media is not  harmful in any way. However, there is always a very small risk that the recipient will react to the contents of antibiotics (gentamycin) in the media if the recipient is allergic, but no such cases have been reported yet.
• What is the shelf life when the seal has been broken, and SpermFilter® has been aspirated?
  
   

  Ensuring absolute sterile work, SpermFilter^® is stable until the expire date shown on the label. For practical reasons we recommend 1 month shelf life after the seal is broken.
• Is there any clinical documentation available on SpermFilter®
  
   

  Yes, SpermFilter^® has been compared to another product on the marked (PureSperm®) in a comparative study of 898 ART cycles (245 IUI-H, 58 IUI-D and 595 IVF/ICSI cycles). There was no significant difference.
• What is the size of the silica particles in SpermFilter®?
  
   

  30-40 nm
• Does SpermFilter® contain antibiotics?
  
   

  No SpermFilter^® 100% stock solution does not contain antibiotics.
• What is the density?
  
   

  The density for 100% is 1.125 g/ml, 1.102 g/ml for 80% and 1.055 g/ml for 40%.
• Is SpermFilter® LAL tested?
  
   

  Yes. LAL (limulus amoboe lysate) is another word for an endotoxin test.
• What is the shelf life when SpermFilter® is kept under warm/hot conditions?
  
   

  When kept at 30-40 degrees C the shelf life is 1 year.
• What does v/v mean in connection with the gradients?
  
   

  % (v/v) means volume to volume in percentage. When making gradients from 100% SpermFilter^® it is important to keep the medium at room temperature. Example make 100 ml 80 % (v/v) SpermFilter gradient: Take 80 ml 100% SpermFilter^® and dilute it with 20 ml SpermWash^®.
• Why do the ready-to-use SpermFilter® gradients contain HSA when some of the other ready-to-use products do not contain HSA?
  
   

  We recommend using HSA in the ready-to-use gradients because research has shown, that you lose up to 25% of the motile spermatozoa when using gradient without HSA.
• Do SpermFilter® gradients contain antibiotics?
  
   

  Yes, SpermFilter^® gradients contain Gentamicin.
• What is the shelf life when SpermFilter® gradients are kept under warm/hot conditions?
  
   

  When kept at 30-40 degrees C the shelf life is 1 week for SpermFilter^® gradients.
• How long before use should the bottle be removed from the refrigerator, if preheating is not available as an alternative?
  
   

  It depends on the size of the bottle. Larger bottles need more time than smaller. Generally it is advisable to remove the bottle from the refrigerator the day before use. The best option is to aspirate the volume needed, equilibrate it at the desired temperature. Place the remaining SpermWash^® in the refrigerator.
• What is the disadvantage of diluting the sperm too much?
  
   

  The volume increases so that you have to use more straws and you dilute the semen. When thawing, the volume can become too big to be able to load on one density gradient. It is especially important not to dilute the semen too much when working with a subnormal semen quality (teratozoo/oligozoo/astenozoo-spermia). It is generally not advisable to freeze semen below 1 mill/ml so a more concentrated extender (semen freezing medium) is better.
• How long is it necessary to leave the straws in nitrogen vapour?
  
   

  Our standard freezing procedure is as follows: We use a dewar approximately 25cm high. We place the straws horizontally in nitrogen vapour approximately 9 cm above the liquid nitrogen and 1 cm below the top of the dewar for 15 minutes at - 30°C. Then we lower the straws to a level approximately 6 cm above the liquid nitrogen for 15 minutes at - 70°C. After 15 minutes at - 70°C the straws are plunged into the liquid nitrogen.
• Is it recommended to plunge the sample directly into liquid nitrogen?
  
   

  Direct plunging into liquid nitrogen is not an optimal choice. We recommend either a programmed freezing protocol or incubation in nitrogen vapour for 15-30 minutes before plunging into liquid nitrogen.
• What is gradient centrifugation?
  
   

  Our semen is only for vaginal or cervical insemination. In case of Intra Uterin Insemination (IUI) the semen must be prepared by density gradient centrifugation in order to remove prostaglandins and bacteria from the semen. If unwashed semen is inseminated directly in the uterus it can result in severe cramps and contraction and allergic reactions. Read more about gradient media.
  

• Minimum concentration before IUI?
  
   

  If the semen is preparated for IUI there should be at least 2 x 10⁶ motile spermatozoa per ml of grade a (WHO) or +3 motility. If the semen is prepared for IVF there should be at least 0.1 x 10⁶ motile spermatozoa per ml of grade a (WHO)or +3 motility. For IUI there should be a volume of 0.3-0.5 ml inseminated. Higher concentration of motile spermatozoa will not increase the pregnancy chance significantly, but a lower concentration will result in a dramatically decrease