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The effect of culture medium volume on in vitro development of

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Background: In the field of mammalian embryo culture, the putative influence of autocrinel paracrine factor(s), produce by the embryos itself, is under investigation. A smaller medium drop can prevent dilution of this factor(s) . Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of culture medium volume on in vitro development of mouse 2-cell embryos. Materials and Methods: The embryos were obtained from female NMRI mice. To evaluate the effect of medium volume, groups of 16-20 late 2-cell embryos were cultured in 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 JlI of drops of Hamיs FlO medium for 72 h. Results: Development to blastocyst stage in 50 and 100 JlI of drop were significantly higher than this in any other volume (p<0.001). Almost a similar pattern was also observed for hatched blastocyst formation. However, the total number of cells in blastocysts, developing in different volumes, were not significantly different. Conclusion: These results indicate that the optimal volumes of Hamיs FlO medium for mouse early embryo development are 50 to 100 ul. However, volumes as small as 2 JlI can successfully support mouse 2-cell embryo development to blastocyst and hatching stages.

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