Application of FT-IR spectroscopy for investigation embryo culture medium in women under going in vitro fertilization (IVF)

Potential Embryo quality is crucial to the outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF); however, the ability to precisely distinguish the embryos with higher reproductive potential from others is poor. Morphologic evaluation used to play an important role in assessing embryo quality, but it is somewhat subjective. The culture medium is the immediate environment of the embryos in vitro, and a change of the substances in the culture medium is possibly related to the embryo quality. FT-IR spectroscopy analysis were used to report metabolomic parameters, established on the basis of observed biomarker targets. FT-IR may also be used as a quantitative method for determining concentrations of components within a sample.FT-IR spectra contain information on functional group vibrations resulting in the absorbance of infrared light at specific wave numbers (1/λ). The majority of these regions can be identified to be vibrational modes from water (O–H stretch centred at 3400 cm–1), fatty acids (CHx stretches at 2956–2850 cm– 1), proteins (amide I, C = O at 1652–1648 cm–1; amide II, N–H, C–N at 1550–1548 cm–1), polysaccharide (ring and C–O vibrations at 1085–1052 cm–1), and there is also a mixed region from 1460–1110 cm–1 which contains information from fatty acids, polysaccharide, nucleic acids and proteins. 30 patients (20–38 years old) with unexplained infertility were included in the study. A total of 35 spent embryo culture medium samples were collected individually on days 1 and 3 for FT-IR studies. The day1,3 culture media samples were thawed on ice for 30 min then spectra were taken [1].Viability indices calculated by FT-IR spectroscopy were higher for embryos that implanted and resulted in a delivery, compared with those that failed to implant. FT-IR spectroscopy predicted viability of individual embryos with a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 83.3%. A multitude of advantages may ensue from the use of a rapid, noninvasive and reliable technology as an adjunct for embryo assessment. An improved understanding of embryo viability may help in identifying the embryos that are most likely to result in a pregnancy and allow more accurate decisions to be made about the number of embryos to be transferred [2]. This in turn may reduce the likelihood of multiple gestations while maintaining or even increasing implantation rates.