The ultimate challenge for assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) is to select the most competent sperm population from a semen sample in an efficient way. In this paper, we report on an effective sperm sorting microfluidic device that exploits the rheotaxis of sperm and investigates the sperm quality sorted under various flow conditions. Rheotaxis is the ability of a sperm cell to orient itself in the direction of the flow and swim against it. A novel passively driven pumping system is reported that provides a steady flow rate while it requires no external power source. We demonstrate that sperm selected with this device at a specific flow rate have higher motility, normal morphology, and a fewer degree of DNA fragmentation compared to a control group

辅助生殖技术 (ART) 的最终挑战是以有效的方式从精液样本中选择最有能力的精子群体。在本文中，我们报告了一种有效的精子分选微流体装置，该装置利用精子的趋向性并研究在各种流动条件下分选的精子质量。Rheotaxis 是精子细胞将自身定向在流动方向并逆流而上的能力。据报道，一种新型被动驱动泵系统可提供稳定的流速，同时无需外部电源。我们证明，与对照组相比，使用该装置以特定流速选择的精子具有更高的运动性、正常的形态和更少的 DNA 碎片化程度