CARD Rat IVF medium (for in vitro fertilization)

Rat sperm cryopreservation techniques - Development background

Rats are widely used in medical and life science research. In recent years, various strains of genetically modified rat have been produced worldwide thanks to the development of genome editing technologies. Moreover, it is predicted that even more genetically modified rats will be produced in the future. Therefore, there is a pressing need for effective preservation techniques for these genetically modified rat strains. Through sperm freezing, it is possible to quickly cryopreserve a large number of sperm taken from the cauda epididymis of a male rat. For this reason, sperm cryopreservation is expected to be an easier, more effective and most economically viable technique for the preservation of genetically modified rat strains than embryo cryopreservation. However, rat sperm is vulnerable to the effects of physical changes to pH, osmotic pressure, temperature and other similar factors. Moreover, it is difficult to maintain the motility of frozen-thawed sperm via conventional sperm cryopreservation methods, which means that it is not viable to use these sperm in in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Therefore, the establishment of rat sperm cryopreservation and rat IVF techniques was required to solve these issues. A research team led by Dr. Naomi Nakagata and Dr. Toru Takeo at the Institute of Resource Development and Analysis, Kumamoto University have developed a practical rat sperm cryopreservation technique and an IVF method using frozenthawed rat sperm. These techniques may offer a solution to the problem of genetically modified rat strain preservation.

As a result of joint research carried out by ourselves and Kumamoto University, we have developed a number of reagents for use in rat reproductive engineering.

CARD FERTIUP Rat Sperm Cryopreservation Agent
CARD FERTIUP Rat Sperm Cryopreservation Agent is a newly-developed agent which enables researchers to efficiently carry out cryopreservation of rat sperm, which until now has been notoriously difficult to cryopreserve. Conventional rat sperm cryopreservation methods are unable to effectively maintain the motility of frozen-thawed sperm. On the other hand, rat sperm cryopreservation carried out using CARD FERTIUP Rat Sperm Cryopreservation Agent yields superior motility even in frozen-thawed rat sperm, allowing for the production of many rat pups via IVF and embryo transfer.

CARD Rat IVF medium
CARD Rat IVF Medium is a new IVF medium developed specially for use in rat IVF.

CARD Rat Sperm Freezing Kit
CARD Rat Sperm Freezing Kit is a kit that facilitates the effective production of high-quality frozen rat sperm during rat sperm cryopreservation using CARD FERTIUPAA Rat Sperm Cryopreservation Agent. With this kit, researchers can appropriately carry out the rat sperm cooling process during rat sperm cryopreservation.

Characteristics

Enables IVF to be carried out using frozen-thawed rat sperm.
Contributes to a reduction in breeding costs through improvements in rat strain preservation efficiency.
Facilitates the timely acquisition of live rats when they are required for experiments through application
to genetically modified rats