Device and method of maintaining sperm motility in a capillary-loaded chamber

Abstract

The invention relates, generally, to a method of removing sharp edges from a microscope coverslip comprising grinding down the edges and polishing the edges The invention also relates to a device for determining cell motility comprising a slide, a coverslip, comprising at least one edge that has been smoothed and a chamber, created by the slide and the coverslip and which is tangential to the coverslip, such that motile cells entering the chamber are substantially undamaged. The invention also relates to a method for using the device to determine cell motility.

1 . A method of removing sharp edges from a microscope coverslip comprising: 
 (a) grinding down the edges; and    (b) polishing the edges.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein edges are polished by diamond grinding, emery paper filing, emery paper buffing, flaming, laser polishing or rouge buffing.  
     
     
         3 . A device for determining cell motility comprising: 
 a slide;    a coverslip comprising at least one edge that has been smoothed; and    a chamber created by the slide and the coverslip and which is tangential to the coverslip, such that motile cells entering the chamber are substantially undamaged.    
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 3 , wherein the motile cell is a sperm cell.  
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 3 , wherein the coverslip comprises glass or plastic.  
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 3 , wherein the chamber is capillary-loaded with motile cells.  
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 3 , wherein the coverslip is planar, intersecting the plane of the slide at an angle conducive to smooth fluid flow.  
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 3 , wherein the coverslip comprises a curve optimized for optimum laminar fluid flow.  
     
     
         9 . A method for using a device for determining cell motility comprising: 
 a slide;    a coverslip comprising at least one edge that has been smoothed; and    a chamber created by the slide and the coverslip and which is tangential to the coverslip, such that motile cells entering the chamber are substantially undamaged.