Transparent Alumina Ceramics‐Based Microfluidic Chip Enables on‐Chip Cryopreservation for Mouse Oocyte

Abstract Oocyte cryopreservation plays a crucial role in safeguarding female fertility in clinical practice. However, commonly used cryopreservation methods involving tedious and time‐consuming procedures, as well as uncontrolled variability between operators, which can easily lead to cell damage. Here, a novel method for cryopreserving oocytes using a transparent alumina ceramics‐based microfluidic chip is developed, which provides an integrated platform for cryoprotectants (CPAs) loading/unloading, as well as freeze‐thaw process and storage. The cryopreservation protocol is optimized to significantly simplify the overall process, reduce CPA osmotic damage, and achieve high‐performance oocyte cryopreservation. The survival rate of oocyte cryopreserved with this method reached 86.23%. In comparison to conventional method, the recovered oocytes exhibit structural stability, functional integrity, genetic normality and higher developmental capacity. The study offers a low‐cost, easy‐to‐operate, high‐performance, on‐chip semi‐automatic cryopreservation technique for oocytes, which is of great significance for standardizing and automating the cryopreservation of female fertility, and has important potential for translational applications.