Real-time and noninvasive monitoring of respiration activity of fertilized ova using semiconductor-based biosensing devices.

In this report, we propose a novel evaluation method of embryo activity, describing the real-time and noninvasive electrical monitoring of embryo activity, caused by fertilization of the sea urchin, using a biologically-coupled field-effect transistor (bio-FET) comprised of semiconductor-based biosensing devices. The detection principle of bio-FET is based on the potentiometric detection of charge density change at the gate insulator, which includes changes of hydrogen ion concentration corresponding to pH variation. The surface potential at the gate surface of the bio-FET increased after the introduction of sperms into the ova, resulting in fertilization on the gate sensing area. The positive shift of surface potential indicates the increase of positive charges of hydrogen ions generated by dissolved carbon dioxide in artificial sea water based on respiration activity of the embryo. Moreover, the electrical signal of embryo activity is suppressed due to the inhibition of cytokinesis by introduction of cytochalasin B. The platform based on the bio-FET is expected to be a real-time, label-free and noninvasive detection system, not only in fundamental studies of embryo activity but also in the evaluation of embryo quality for in vitro fertilization.