FERTICULT™ FLUSHING MEDIUM, FertiPro, Belgium
622.74₾ – 1,699.00₾
HEPES buffered cell culture medium for use in IVF.
FertiCult Flushing medium is a formulation for washing of human ova, spermatozoa and embryos. FertiCult Flushing medium can also be used for swim-up techniques of human spermatozoa, sperm injection in oocytes during ICSI, introduction of washed spermatozoa in the uterus (IUI) and for embryo transfer.
All the products in the FertiCult™ product range undergo strict quality control to comply with the following specifications:
| pH | 7.3-7.6 |
| Osmolality | 270-290mOsm/kg |
| Sterility | Sterile |
| Endotoxin | < 0.25EU/ml |
| Mouse embryo assay | ≥ 80% blastocysts after 96h incubation |
| Shelf life | 18 months from date of produce |
| Albumin | FDA (USA) and EMEA (Europe) compliant |
Regulatory
Europe: CE-marked - Canada: Health Canada License
Brazil: registered
Product order codes
| FLUSH020 | FertiCult Flushing medium - 5x 20ml |
| FLUSH050 | FertiCult Flushing medium - 5x 50ml |
| FLUSH100 | FertiCult Flushing medium - 3x 100ml |
| FLUSH020PHR | FertiCult Flushing medium w/ ph.red - 5x 20ml |
| FLUSH050PHR | FertiCult Flushing medium w/ ph.red - 5x 50ml |
| FLUSH100PHR | FertiCult Flushing medium w/ ph.red - 3x 100ml |
| FLUSH020PRG | FertiCult Flushing medium w/ ph.red & gentamicin - 5x 20ml |
| FLUSH050PRG | FertiCult Flushing medium w/ ph.red & gentamicin - 5x 50ml |
| FLUSH100PHR_G | FertiCult Flushing medium w/ ph.red & gentamicin - 3x 100ml |
The product composition can be found in the MSDS (see Resources). Additional information on some components is provided below:
| Component | Benefit |
| HEPES (18 mM) | HEPES stabilizes the pH under air (Clark and Swain 2014), therefore CO2 incubation is not required. |
| HSA (4g/L) | FertiCult Flushing medium contains 4 g/Liter Human Serum Albumin (HSA) to optimize medium performances. HSA is universally added to most ART media because it is widely considered to be of benefit. |
| The role of albumin in ART media is extensive, including: | |
| - Stabilization of the cell membrane of the embryo in the medium (Malda, et al. 2008). | |
| - Inhibition of lipid peroxidation that can be damaging to sperm (Alvarez en Storey 1995). | |
| - Carrier and source of essential molecules needed by the embryo (Malda, et al. 2008) | |
| - Detoxification by binding waste products from cell metabolism (Blake, et al. 2004) | |
| - Facilitating gamete/embryo manipulation by preventing adsorption to the surface through saturation of potential binding sites (Blake, et al. 2004) | |
| Phenol red sodium salt (0.003 g/L) | FertiCult Flusing medium is also available with the addition of phenol red. |
| Phenol red functions as a visual pH indicator: | |
| - > 7.35: the medium is colored red to purple. | |
| - 7.15 - 7.35: the medium is colored pink to rose. | |
| - < 7.15: the medium is colored yellow. | |
| 0.003 g/L is the minimum concentration of phenol red needed to view a color (Fleming and Cooke 2008). pH stabilization is essential when handling gametes or embryos. Therefore, validation of pH changes is strongly recommended. Changes in medium color also act as an indicator for bacterial or fungal contamination. Infection affects pH and this can easily be observed in medium containing a pH indicator such as phenol red. | |
| Gentamicin sulphate (0.010 g/L) | FertiCult Flushing medium is also available with the addition of gentamicin sulphate. |
| Indeed, even under aseptic conditions, commensal bacteria are easily introduced in culture media. Since these contaminations can be detrimental to gametes, embryos and ART outcome, a large number of customers choose to use media supplemented with gentamicin (Quinn 2014). | |
| Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) tests done by FertiPro N.V. have demonstrated that embryo culture media supplemented with 0.010 g/L gentamicin efficiently eliminate bacterial growth. | |
| Even though, each handling should be performed under strict aseptic conditions (LAF-bench)! |
