# OvaSafe: A microfluidic device enabling automated oocyte vitrification

> **NIH NIH R44** · AUTOIVF, INC. · 2022 · $287,875

## Abstract

Abstract
In the United States, the total number of In-vitro Fertilization (IVF) clinics has stayed relatively stagnant through
the past decade, and the IVF-cycles per million women remains significantly lower than in other developed
countries. The greatest challenge for widespread use of IVF includes its high cost, driven by the need for complex
and expensively equipped IVF laboratories and highly-trained embryologists. The high cost and accessibility
of IVF clinics is the leading reason why couples are unable to undergo or delay IVF treatment and/or egg
banking. Our company’s goal is to automate various functions within an embryology lab to decrease the cost
and improve the overall accessibility of IVF treatments and fertility preservation. We are aiming to achieve this
by reducing the equipment and personnel requirements so as to pave the way towards de-centralization of IVF.
Towards this goal, our proposed new technology “OvaSafe” will facilitate vitrification of oocytes prior to them
being transferred to central embryology labs for fertilization or long-term storage facilities for preservation.
OvaSafe will complement the ongoing project, OvaReady, which automatically prepares oocytes for vitrification.
OvaSafe will utilize microfluidic devices to load cryoprotectant agents (CPA) rapidly and gradually to
oocytes, and automatically transfer the oocytes into silica capillary carriers prior to them being plunged
into liquid nitrogen to complete the vitrification process. In addition to improving the accessibility by enabling
processing of gametes at satellite clinics, performing gradual CPA loading using microfluidic devices will reduce
the CPA exposure, toxicity, and osmotic stress to oocytes. Automated CPA loading and utilization of a closed
vitrification carrier will eliminate variations between operators and clinics. Although the scope of this proposal is
limited to oocyte vitrification, the technology can also be applicable to embryo vitrification in the future.
In our preliminary studies, we demonstrated that gradual CPA loading using microfluidics and silica capillary
vitrification are both practical methods which can improve vitrification outcomes. We showed that gradual CPA
loading decreases the total CPA exposure to oocytes, and reduces the osmotic stress driven by cell shrinkage
which is a response to standard step-wise CPA loading protocols. We also demonstrated that silica capillaries
can achieve ultra-rapid cooling and warming rates that are comparable to standard open carrier methods, and
the vitrification outcomes with silica capillaries are comparable or superior to standard methods. In the proposed
work, we will build on these innovations and integrate both methods in a simple, reliable, and closed system to
automate the oocyte vitrification process. Through this Fast-Track application, we propose and plan to complete
the following aims in this order: develop a microfluidic CPA loading device; modify CPA loading device for
auto...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10602590
- **Project number:** 1R44HD111134-01
- **Recipient organization:** AUTOIVF, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Ismail Emre Ozkumur
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $287,875
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-21 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10602590

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10602590, OvaSafe: A microfluidic device enabling automated oocyte vitrification (1R44HD111134-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10602590. Licensed CC0.

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