New international publication: Embryo Metabolomics
February, 9th 2011
One of the main limitations of assisted reproduction techniques is the rate of embryo implantation.
Success rates of assisted reproduction techniques can be increased through the adequate selection of an embryo with the greatest implantation ability. One method of embryo selection which has, in a sense, achieved this goal is morphological evaluation. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that there are times when good quality embryos fail to result in pregnancy.
The aim of the paper published in the prestigious journal, Metabolomics is to find biomarkers that allow us to identify the implantation ability of the embryo in a non-invasive way using different analytical techniques: HPLC-MS, HPLC-MS/MS and NMR. The results of this study suggest that certain amino acids in the embryo culture medium act as the markers of this implantation ability. Apart from evaluating different techniques, this study has shown the dynamic character of embryo development underlining the change in the metabolites present in the medium culture medium throughout embryo development.
What is metabolomics? What benefits do metabolomics bring to ART?
What information does the study of embryo metabolomics give?