Laser microdissection system allows the precise cutting and movement of specimens without the need for physical contact, helping get reproductive studies moving
The launch of a laser microdissection system from Carl Zeiss is helping to resolve some of the remaining issues in embryo development research and in vitro fertilisation.
Palm (positioning and ablation with laser microbeams) allows the precise cutting and movement of specimens without the need for physical contact and eliminates the risk of contamination being introduced by the scientist or technician.
Laser microdissection is already used in various areas of reproductive biology.
For example, a hole drilled into the oocyte zona facilitates sperm penetration and/or assists embryo hatching and sperms may be immobilised by removal of the tail.
However, the conventional needle method of introducing the immobilised sperm directly into the perivitelline space of oocytes is slow and cumbersome.
The Palm system uses the power of its laser light source to quickly trap sperm in a set of optical tweezers and fire them through a laser-drilled hole in the oocyte wall using its patented Laser Pressure Catapulting (LPC) technique.
"This non-contact procedure represents a breakthrough for many areas of medical research but is vital in human in vitro fertilisation, says Aubrey Lambert, marketing manager at Carl Zeiss UK. "Contamination would not only have a devastating impact on the patient but also raise the already very high costs of treatment." In Palm, the extremely high photon density of the precisely focused laser microbeam gives rise to a laser pressure force capable of moving cells.
Like a ball that is kicked into the goal, the sample is driven at high speed along the wave front of the powerful photonic stream and can be precisely catapulted several millimetres without physical contact.
