The effect of cult-active medium on pregnancy outcomes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection in azoospermic men: A case-control study

Background: Failed oocyte activation following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) as a result of calcium deficiency is a major challenge. Objective: We compared the effect of cult-active medium (CAM) on ICSI outcomes in obstructive azoospermia cases. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted with 152 ICSI cases, classified into CAM and control groups. The injected oocytes in the control group were cultured in the cleavage medium, while in the artificial oocyte activation group, oocytes were chemically activated through exposure to 200 µL of CAM for 15 min. Fertilization and cleavage rates, quality of embryos, and biochemical pregnancy and live birth rates were assessed in both groups. Results: There were significant differences between the groups in terms of fertilization and cleavage rates after using the CAM in the percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) subgroup (p = 0.05, p ≤ 0.001) and in the testicular sperm extraction subgroup (p = 0.02, p = 0.04), compared to their control groups. Also, the pregnancy rate was significantly higher in the PESA-CAM subgroup (p = 0.03). The PESA-CAM subgroup demonstrated a significant difference in embryo quality after ICSI (p = 0.04). Unsuccessful embryo transfer and abortion were lower in both subgroups compared to the control groups, but this difference was not significant. Surprisingly, live birth rate was higher in the PESA-CAM subgroup (p = 0.03). Conclusion: CAM treatment could improve fertilization and cleavage rates in obstructive azoospermia participants. It had a significant effect on embryo quality, and pregnancy and live birth rates in PESA cases. Key words: Calcium ionophore, Obstructive azoospermia, Fertilization, ICSI

{6,6′-Dimeth­oxy-2,2′-[4,5-dimethyl-o-phenyl­enebis(nitrilo­methyl­idyne)]diphenolato}nickel(II)

In the title Schiff base complex, [Ni(C24H22N2O4)], the NiII atom has a slightly distorted square-planar coordination environment. The dihedral angles between the central benzene ring and the two outer rings are 7.62 (16) and 9.78 (17)°. The crystal structure is stabilized by inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π–π inter­actions with a centroid–centroid distance of 3.8218 (19) Å

5,5′-Dimeth­oxy-2,2′-[4,5-dimethyl-o-phenyl­enebis(nitrilo­methyl­idyne)]diphenol

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C24H24N2O4, the dihedral angles between the central and the two outer benzene rings are 48.12 (8) and 21.44 (8)°. Intra­molecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bonding generates S(6) rings

3,3′-Dimeth­oxy-2,2′-[(4,5-dimethyl-o-phenyl­ene)bis­(nitrilo­methanylyl­idene)]diphenol

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C24H24N2O4, comprises two crystallographically independent mol­ecules A and B. The dihedral angles between the central dimethyl-substituted benzene ring and the two outer benzene rings are 49.5 (1) and 5.06 (11)° in mol­ecule A, and 42.55 (8) and 5.77 (9)° in mol­ecule B. In each mol­ecule, two strong intra­molecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds generate two S(6) ring motifs. The crystal structure is further stabilized by inter­molecular π–π [centroid–centroid distances of 3.591 (1)–3.876 (1) Å] inter­actions

6,6′-Dimethoxy-2,2′-[4,5-dimethyl-o-phenylenebis(nitrilomethylidyne)]diphenol monohydrate

In the title compound, C24H24N2O4·H2O, the dihedral angles between the central benzene ring and the two outer benzene rings of the Schiff base are 65.06 (9) and 3.02 (9)°. Strong intramolecular O—H...N hydrogen bonds generate S(6) ring motifs. The H atoms of the water molecule act as donors in the formation of bifurcated O—H...(O,O) intermolecular hydrogen bonds with the O atoms of the hydroxy and methoxy groups with R12(5) ring motifs; these may influence the molecular conformation