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Description:
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The cryopreservation of sperm offers several benefits to various biological sciences including clinical medicine , biotechnology and agriculture . This conservation process requires a reduction in cellular metabolism while maintaining viability and structural stability through freezing and eventually thawing thus allowing for an extension of viability past normal limitations . However , the application of sperm cryopreservation has not been successful in all species . For example in the livestock sector , advancements in semen technology have been made in the dairy industry , but not as significantly within the equine and swine areas .
Recently , a new Unique Freezing Technology (UFT ) was developed to freeze foodstuffs at a quick rate while maintaining freshness . This dissertation represents the initial series of trials utilizing this new technology on cellular specimens not of meat origin . From August 2001 to March 2003 , numerous ejaculates from five different Quarter Horse stallions and seven boars were collected . From these samples , over 1000 treatments were created to test various cryopreservation procedures and techniques including extenders , freezing rates , thawing rates , male influence , and storage containers . The design of this study was to improve post -thaw motility rates of stallion and boar spermatozoa .
Several factors were found to affect the post -thaw motility outcome . In the stallion trials significant factors included preparative handling , stallion influence and freezing technique . The results of the boar trials also revealed the significant influences of the pre -freezing protocols , boar influence and freezing techniques . Further testing was conducted on the boar sperm samples to evaluate the stability of the phospholipid membrane post -thaw . Large variations were noted in the amounts of lipid free radicals and lipid peroxidation from the fresh samples compared to those found from the post -thaw samples . This idea was further demonstrated by an analysis of the progressive stress accumulated during pre -freezing preparation .
The unique freezing technology could be potentially considered to be used for spermatozoa cryopreservation for swine . However , further studies need to be implemented to standardize techniques and find alternative extenders . |