Microscopic dynamics of mammalian spermatozoa in complex
physical environment.
Supervisor : Dr. Vasily Kantsler
Sperm movement is a physically and biologically complex process. Several hypotheses link sperm
selection to the inheritance of superior fitness traits (i.e. disease resistance, offspring survival and
fecundity) was developed by evolutionary biologists. However, recognizing the biochemical and genetic
properties of the selected sperm have great biomedical insights as limited movement of sperm can lead
to male infertility, a disease that affects approximately
5–7 % of the population.
There have been several hypothesized mechanisms
responsible for the sperm cells migration in the
fertilization tract. However there no understanding on
either how the physical or chemical complex
environment experienced by the sperm cells is
affecting the sperm journey towards fertilisation.
Microfluidic experiment with a complex surface
structure, controlled fluid stress, temperature and
chemical gradient environment is an excellent tool to
understand the mechanisms driving the sperm motility
and classify sperm cells in accordance to different
physical parameters influencing their complex motion.
Strongly non-linear dynamics of spermatozoa on the
micro-scale play a crucial role for the rheological
properties and self-organization on larger scale in the Figure 1. Microfluidic device to study sperm collective
dense suspensions of the swimming cells. The main phenomena
challenge in describing complex and biological fluids is
to understand the coupling of the phenomena on many length scales. A systematic approach to the
problem is to study both microscopic dynamics and interactions of the constituents in the fluids (swimming
cells in this case), as well as the rheological response or large scale active transport and self-organization
of the active fluids.
The challenge that will be undertaken in this PhD project at the University of Warwick is to focus on
experimental investigation of microscopic dynamics of mammalian spermatozoa under external physical
stimuli. The study would also include collective behaviour and self-organisation phenomena in highly
concentrated suspensions of the cells.
The project will aid the development of conceptually novel biotechnological methods for in-vitro
fertilization.
http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/sperm-cells-are-extremely-efficient-swimming-against-current-0527
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/sperm-against-the-stream
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27589816
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/microswimmers-hit-the-wall
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2140795/Sperm-crash-walls-race-egg.html