Immunomagnetic removal of cryo-damaged human spermatozoa

Aim: To estimate the dissipation of mitochondrial transmembrane potential (mTMR,Δψ_m) and activation of sperm caspases (aCP) as signs of apoptosis in human spermatozoa during cryopreservation and to evaluate the efficiency of immunomagnetic cell separation (MACS) of these spermatozoa via annexin V-binding. Methods: The mTMP and aCP in fresh and cryopreserved spermatozoa were detected by fluorescence microscopy and by Western blots. The sperm suspensions were divided into two sperm fractions (with intact and deteriorated membranes) by magnetic cell separation (MiniMACS, Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany) in dependence on their binding to superparamagnetic annexin V-microbeads (AN-MB). Results: The cryopreservation decreased the portion of spermatozoa with intact mTMP from 80.1% ± 7.2 % to 53.5 % ± 13.1% and increased the spermatozoa with activated pancaspases (aCP) from 21.8 % ± 2.6 % to 47.7 % ± 5.8 % (n = 10; mean ± SEM; P < 0.01). The activation of caspases 1, 3, 8, and 9 in the cryopreserved spermatozoa was confirmed by Western blots (n = 22). MACS reduced significantly the percentage of cryopreserved spermatozoa with dissipated mTMP to 8.1 ± 3.9 (P < 0.01) and also those with aCP to 9.3 % ± 2.2 %. Western blot analyses confirmed the increase of the activated caspase3, 9, and 8 in the AN-MB-positive fraction (P < 0.05) compared with the AN-MB-negative fraction. The MACS separation effect was confirmed by anti-annexin V-antibodies. There was no significant influence of the separation column and the magnetic field on the sperm functions. Conclusion: The cryopreservation impaired the mTMP and enhanced the activation status of caspases in human spermatozoa. The immunomagnetic sperm separation via binding of AN-MB could deplete low quality spermatozoa from cryopreserved semen samples.

Study on Shigella Detection by ATP Bioluminescence Magnetic Enzyme Immunoassay

[Objective] The research aimed to establish a rapid detection method for Shigella. [Method] Combining immunomagnetic separation technology with ATP bioluminescence technology, a new kind of fast and accurate ATP bioluminescence magnetic enzyme immunoassay technique for Shigella was established. [Result] Using ATP bioluminescence magnetic enzyme immunoassay technique to detect standard solution for Shigella （ATCC 25931 ）, result showed that correlation coefficient between relative light intensity detected by instrument and bacteria concentration detec- ted by culture counting method was 0.981 1. Moreover, relation curve between relative light intensity and Shigella concentration was drawn. [ Conclusion] The method had a high detection speed and accuracy, and could be used for the rapid detection of pathogen in food and environment.

Improvement of detection method of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in reclaimed water

Cryptosporidium and Giardia are two typical species of pathogenic protozoans that seriously endanger water quality.Previous works indicated that detection of Cryptosporidium and Giardia with modified United States Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA)method-1623 using a membrane filtration-elution for sample concentration attained better recovery and lower cost compared to the USEPA method-1623.Several improvements of membrane filtration-elution step as well as immunomagnetic separation(IMS)steps were investigated and an optimized method for detection of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in wastewater reclamation system was recommended in this paper.The experimental results show that an overnight soak of the membrane after scraping and vortex agitation before elution could enhance and stabilize the recovery.Increasing turbidity to 4 NTU by adding kaolin clay before filtration could effectively improve the recovery of low-turbidity water.Washing the concentrate after centrifugation and twice acid dissociation both reduced the impact of water quality to protozoan recovery.Protozoans in different water samples were determined by this optimized method,and the recovery of Cryptosporidium and Giardia were above 70% and 80%respectively,much higher than the acceptance of method-1623.