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US 10,946,346 B2Granted
Sperm separation by electrophoresis
AssigneeMemphasys Limited
InventorsXing Feng Zhao, Hani Nur
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to the separation of sperm. In particular, the present invention relates to the use of polyvinyl alcohol membranes in the electrophoretic separation of sperm.
Claims13
A method of using at least one physically cross-linked biocompatible polymeric membrane in the separation of sperm by electrophoresis, wherein the membrane comprises poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA).
A method for separating sperm from a first solution into a second solution, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing the first solution to a membrane stack comprising a separation membrane disposed between first and second physically cross-linked biocompatible polymeric restriction membranes comprising PVA, wherein the first solution lies between the first restriction membrane and the separation membrane and wherein the separation membrane has a preselected pore size;
- and
- applying an electrical field across the stack,
- wherein sperm in the first solution that have a negative charge and are smaller than the preselected pore size move towards the anode and pass through the separation membrane into the second solution which lies between the separation membrane and the second restriction membrane.
1 more element
A method for separating sperm from a first solution into a second solution, the method comprising the steps of:
- separating the first and second solutions by means of a physically cross-linked biocompatible polymeric separation membrane comprising PVA, wherein the separation membrane has a preselected pore size;
- and
- applying an electric field across the first and second solutions, wherein sperm in the first solution that have a negative charge and are smaller than the preselected pore size move towards the anode and pass through the separation membrane into the second solution.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.