[Usefulness of particle size distribution analyzer for counting the number of sperm]

We tried to use particle size distribution analyzer to count the number of sperm. The epididymis was removed from male Syrian golden hamsters intratracheally instilled with indium arsenide, indium phosphide or phosphate buffer only, and the homogenate of the cauda epididymidis was used as the sperm sample. The number of sperm counted with particle size distribution analyzer correlated well with the number of sperm counted with hemocytometer (r = 0.96) and the coefficient of the regression line was almost 1. When the same sperm sample was counted repetitively (n = 4), there was no difference in the coefficient of variation between the sperm number counted with particle size distribution analyzer and the sperm number counted with hemocytometer (6.4 +/- 5.8% vs. 7.8 +/- 4.0%). From these results, particle size distribution analyzer was thought to be useful for counting the number of sperm.