Modares Mechanical Engineering

Modares Mechanical Engineering

Design of a Two-Stage Microfluidic System for Sperm Isolation in Azoospermic Patients for Application in In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Mohammadreza Maleki 1
Peiman Mosaddegh 1
Reza, Nosrati 2
Ahmadreza Pishevar 1
1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
2 Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
10.48311/mme.2025.27739
Abstract

Infertility is an increasingly prevalent global issue, affecting approximately %15 of couples, with male factors accounting for half of these cases. The most severe form of male infertility is non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), in which sperm production is drastically reduced. Sperm retrieval from testicular tissue samples in these patients is a time-consuming process that relies heavily on the operator’s expertise. The presence of background cells and tissue debris further complicates the identification of sperm. In this study, a two-stage passive microfluidic system was designed and simulated, integrating an inertial spiral module with a deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) module. In the first stage, the spiral module utilizes inertial and Dean vortex forces to remove larger particles from the main flow, thereby preventing channel blockage in the second stage. In the subsequent stage, the high-resolution DLD module removes the remaining background cells, completing the sperm separation process. Simulation results demonstrate that particles smaller than 4.7 μm in diameter, corresponding to sperm cells and residual red blood cells, are efficiently separated from larger background cells, effectively preventing clogging in downstream microfluidic channels. Given the DLD module’s high resolution, the system can isolate sperm cells from residual red blood cells with more than %95 efficiency.
Keywords
Azoospermia
Infertility
Sperm
Microfluidics
Separation
Subjects
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Modares Mechanical Engineering
Volume 25, Issue 8 - Serial Number 8
August 2025
Pages 505-514