Quality Control of Fertility Management

How do you get incontrovertible proof that your laboratory tools are not gamete or embryo toxic? Where can you test your cell culture media, tubes, needles, catheters, and gloves? As a fertility center or as a supplier of ART tools, you need a rapid and accurate answer to comply with accreditation requirements

As a quality control lab for lab ware, culture and support media and medical devices used in fertility treatment, EggCentris ensures you fast results with the highest accuracy. We work according to Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) and guarantee the sensitivity, robustness and reproducibility of all our tests. For your own accreditation, we send you a Certificate of Analysis (CoA) for each test performed.

Customised bioassays for every application

Our specialised background in all aspects of fertility and reproduction science, enable us to give you valuable advice for the selection of the best test protocols tailored to your specific products and quality control requirements. To be able to accomplish this goal we have developed a battery of sensitive bioassays focussed to the different biological entities and products.

The Oocyte

• IVF^O
  In Vitro Fertilisation procedure with pre-exposure of the cumulus oocyte complexes to the product sample. Assesses oocyte’s fertilisation and embryo developmental capacity upon exposure to the test item

Sperm cells

• SMA
  Sperm Motility Assay, determines effects on the sperm motility and sperm viability (SST) upon exposure to the test sample
• IVF^S
  
  In Vitro Fertilisation procedure with pre-exposure of the sperm cells to the product sample. Assesses fertilisation capacity and long term effects on embryo development of the exposed sperm cells

Embryo development

• MEA
  
  Mouse embryo assay, evaluates disturbances to the pre-implantation embryo development process. Depending on the tailored protocol such as our MEA°Z, MEA°C and MEA°S the assays pertain to different biological entities or product groups
• MEA°Z
  Focuses on the zygote; the zygote is pre-exposed to the test sample before starting the embryo culture

MEA°C
Evaluates all stages of the pre-implantation embryo development, the embryos are cultured in continuous contact with the test sample throughout the culture period

• MEA°S
  Focuses on specific windows of embryo development. Embryo exposure is done only during the time period that is relevant for the test product. Embryos are sequentially cultured in test condition and control conditions

Mineral oil

Mineral oil used in ART is a very delicate product. It protects the embryo from the external environment, however due to its physical characteristics it can also very easily attract toxicities from the environment and expose them to the embryo. Very careful handling and testing is mandatory.

• IVF^C
  We suggest our IVF^C, our In Vitro Fertilisation procedure where the mineral oil is continuously in contact throughout the whole procedure (gamete preparation, fertilisation and embryo development)

Endotoxin measurement

• LAL
  The Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate assay. We perform the kinetic chromogenic methodology to quantitatively determine the endotoxin concentration in your sample