Purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus gamete manipulation using optical trapping and microfluidics

A system has been developed that allows for optical and fluidic manipulation of gametes. The optical manipulation is performed by using a single-point gradient trap with a 40x oil immersion PH3 1.3 NA objective on a Zeiss inverted microscope. The fluidic manipulation is performed by using a custom microfluidic chamber designed to fit into the short working distance between the condenser and objective. The system is validated using purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus gametes and has the potential to be used for mammalian in vitro fertilization and animal husbandry. (C) The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.