Instituto de Reproducción Animal de Uruguay

1 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Bioengineering

Spatula Montevideo Device for the Vitrification of Mammalian Embryos

Geraldine Schlapp^*1, María Noel Meikle^*1, Lucía Goyeneche², Pedro Dos Santos Neto³, Martina Crispo¹

¹Laboratory Animal Biotechnology Unit, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, ²Centro de Esterilidad Montevideo, ³Fundación IRAUy, Instituto de Reproducción Animal de Uruguay

Here, we present the Spatula Montevideo protocol for vitrifying mouse and sheep pre-implantation embryos, consisting of a homemade spatula and utilizing homemade solutions. Embryos are rapidly equilibrated in two cryoprotectant solutions of increasing concentration, loaded onto the spatula, immersed in liquid nitrogen, and finally sealed with a 0.5 mL straw.