Selection of High-quality Sperms by the Nanotechnological Method of Magnetic Activation in Brazilian Cervids

Cervids show a high degree of abnormalities in their sperm cells. Thus, this study aimed to select high-quality spermatozoa using magnetic-activated sperm sorting (MASS) compared to density gradient centrifugation (DGC) by assessing the post-selection cell quality. Semen from six Mazama deer was collected by electroejaculation after chemical restraint. The semen was analyzed in four samples: Fresh, DGC, SEMgood - non-apoptotic fraction,and SEMpoor - apoptotic fraction. The material was analyzed for motility and vigor (light microscopy), concentration (Neubauer chamber), semen morphology (phase contrast), and supravital staining test (eosin/ nigrosine).The DGC method used 20 x 106 cells in 90% and 45% percoll® gradient.The MASS used 10 x 106 cells with 20 μl of iron nanoparticles attached to Annexin V and filtration in a magnetic separation column. Both processing methods (DGC and MASS) were effective in producing high-quality spermsamples, with a marked reduction in abnormalities from 41.83 ± 10.25 (fresh) to 14.83 ± 3.17(DGC) and 12 ± 3.01 (SEMgood), with 80.3% ± 2.06 livings cells. These findings suggest that this nanotechnological method,using nanoparticles, effectively produces high-quality semen samples in cervids for use in assisted reproduction

Electrosynthesis and optical characterization of poly(p-phenylene), polypyrrole and poly(p-phenylene)-polypyrrole films

Poly(p-phenylene) (PPP), polypyrrole (PPY), and poly(p-phenylene-pyrrole) (PPP-PPY) films were electrochemically synthesized in acetronitrile by cyclic voltammetry. For comparison purposes, the films were characterized by cyclic voltammetry in a monomer-free solution, and their optical responses were also obtained in the UV-VIS range of energy after varying the applied potentials. The absorbance spectra of the PPP-PPY film exhibited bands typically seen in the spectra of the homopolymers, PPP and PPY films, but better defined, intense, and related to reversible color transitions. Although it was not possible to confirm by using infrared and Raman spectroscopy that a copolymer was in fact obtained, the presence of both monomers, pyrrole and biphenyl, in the polymerization medium turned easier the process of film formation, yielding darker, more uniform, and rougher films as it was verified by photographic images and AFM (atomic force microscopy) images