Numerical Study of a Microfluidic-Based Motile Sperm Enrichment Using Sperm Rheotaxis Behavior

Sperm sorting for separation of motile sperms is one of the key step processes in assisted reproductive technology. In this article, we propose a microfluidic device for sperm separation utilizing sperm rheotaxis behavior. In this device, diamond-shaped pillars are designed to generate a velocity field pattern that can promote rheotaxis and boundary following behavior, simultaneously. By carefully adjusting the fluid flow rate, sperms with low motility will be trapped in the pillar network. By using joint COMSOL and MATLAB simulation, we verify our hypothesis regarding the effectiveness of the proposed microchannel.