The comparison of survival rates of vitrified mouse blastocysts in various vitrification solutions and apparatuses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate survival rates of vitrified mouse blastocysts in various vitrification solutions (cryoprotectants) and apparatuses. The mouse blastocysts were harvested from culture of mouse 2 cell embryo and were divided into three group (i) untreated (control); (ii) exposed to cryoprotectant agents; or (iii) cryopreserved by various vitrification apparatuses. Vitrification solutions are 40% ethylene glycol (EG) + 5.8 mg/mL ficoll + 0.5M sucrose (EFS solution), 3M glycerol + 3M EG (ES solution), 20% EG + 20% dimethyl sulfoxide (ED solution), 3M EG + 1.0 m sucrose (ES solution). Vitrification apparatuses consisted of 5 groups; closed plastic straw (CPS), electron microscope (EM) grid, cryoloop, open pulled straw (OPS), and glass micropippete in plastic straw (GPS). The survival rates of control were 88.0%. The survival rates of exposed blastocysts in EFS, GE, ED, and ES solutions were 70.8%, 43.5% (P < 0.01), 83.3% and 65.2%, respectively. The survival rates of vitrified blastocysts in CPS, EM grid, cryoloop, OPS and GPS were 56.5% (P < 0.01), 72.7%, 83.3%, 60.9% (P < 0.05) and 54.2% (P < 0.01), respectively. Among the vitrification solutions, the highest survival rate was seen in blastocysts vitrified in EG + DMSO (83.3%). The survival rate was not significantly different from that of the control (88%). Blastocysts cryopreserved with glycerol in all groups had an overall low survival rate of 43.5%. Survival rate of mouse blastocysts between vitrification apparatuses showed higher in cryoloop.