Majid Tarahomi1, Annemieke A de Melker2, Madelon van Wely2, Geert Hamer2, Sjoerd Repping2, Sebastiaan Mastenbroek3. 1. Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Amsterdam Reproduction and Development Research Institute, Academic Medical Centre, University of AmsterdamAmsterdam, the Netherlands; Reproductive Biotechnology Research Centre, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECRTehran, Iran. 2. Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Amsterdam Reproduction and Development Research Institute, Academic Medical Centre, University of AmsterdamAmsterdam, the Netherlands. 3. Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Amsterdam Reproduction and Development Research Institute, Academic Medical Centre, University of AmsterdamAmsterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address: s.mastenbroek@amc.uva.nl.
Abstract
RESEARCH QUESTION: How stable is the pH of human preimplantation embryo culture media during IVF culture and is there variation in pH between batches of culture media? DESIGN: To evaluate pH stability, three batches of three culture media were incubated in triplicate without embryos (sham culture) at CO2 levels recommended by the manufacturers (5% or 6%) for 4 days. To evaluate differences in pH between batches, the pH of three batches of five culture media was measured in triplicate during 1 day of sham culture. Linear mixed models were used for the analysis. RESULTS: An increase in pH during 4 days of culture was found in all three culture media, but the observed increased values were within the generally accepted range for clinical practice (pH 7.2-7.4). One medium was pH 7.1 in the first 2 days, but this was within the range provided by the manufacturer for that medium. Three out of five analysed media showed batch variation in pH that exceeded the generally accepted range for clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: A relevant difference in pH was found between batches of human preimplantation embryo culture media. This suggests that the CO2 level of incubators may need to be adjusted for new batches of culture medium based on measured pH, to anticipate batch variability and safely accommodate limited pH increase over time. This study was unable to identify the cause of the differences in pH between batches, and further investigation on a larger number of batches and other media seems warranted.
RESEARCH QUESTION: How stable is the pH of human preimplantation embryo culture media during IVF culture and is there variation in pH between batches of culture media? DESIGN: To evaluate pH stability, three batches of three culture media were incubated in triplicate without embryos (sham culture) at CO2 levels recommended by the manufacturers (5% or 6%) for 4 days. To evaluate differences in pH between batches, the pH of three batches of five culture media was measured in triplicate during 1 day of sham culture. Linear mixed models were used for the analysis. RESULTS: An increase in pH during 4 days of culture was found in all three culture media, but the observed increased values were within the generally accepted range for clinical practice (pH 7.2-7.4). One medium was pH 7.1 in the first 2 days, but this was within the range provided by the manufacturer for that medium. Three out of five analysed media showed batch variation in pH that exceeded the generally accepted range for clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: A relevant difference in pH was found between batches of human preimplantation embryo culture media. This suggests that the CO2 level of incubators may need to be adjusted for new batches of culture medium based on measured pH, to anticipate batch variability and safely accommodate limited pH increase over time. This study was unable to identify the cause of the differences in pH between batches, and further investigation on a larger number of batches and other media seems warranted.
Authors: Andrea Abdala; Ibrahim Elkhatib; Aşina Bayram; Ana Arnanz; Ahmed El-Damen; Laura Melado; Barbara Lawrenz; Nicolás Garrido; Human M Fatemi; Neelke De Munck Journal: J Assist Reprod Genet Date: 2021-08-26 Impact factor: 3.412
Authors: Mohamed Fawzy; Mai Emad; Jack Wilkinson; Ragaa Mansour; Ali Mahran; Ahmed Fetih; Mohamed Abdelrahman; Hazem AbdelGhafar Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2020-02-04 Impact factor: 2.692