Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Morphometric Protocol for the Objective Assessment of Blastocyst Behavior During Vitrification and Warming Steps
Published on: February 28, 2019
[Comparison of 3 techniques for artificial shrinkage of blastocoelic cavity before vitrification of expanded mouse
Ning-yuan Zhang1, Hai-xiang Sun, Ya-li Hu
1Reproductive Medicine Center, Drum Tower Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, China.
Objective:
To establish an effective pretreatment method for the vitrification of expanded mouse blastocysts by comparing 3 techniques for the artificial shrinkage of the blastocoelic cavity.
Methods:
The blastocoelic cavity was artificially shrunk by micro-needle aspiration, pipetting or laser drilling prior to the vitrification of the expanded blastocysts. The rates of survival and hatching achieved with the three techniques were compared with those of the non-shrinkage group.
Results:
The rates of survival were 72.9, 72.0 and 94.0%, and those of hatching were 64.6, 32.0 and 62.0% in the three shrinkage groups, obviously higher than in the nonshrinkage group (40.0 and 16.0%).
Conclusion:
Artificial shrinkage of the blastocoelic cavity was an effective pretreatment technique for the vitrification of expanded mouse blastocysts, especially by micro-needle aspiration and laser drilling.
