Makler Semen Counting Chambers

Created by Nicole Smith, Modified on Mon, 6 May at 11:16 AM by Kathleen Patrick

Makler semen counting chamber

INSTRUCTIONS:

IMPORTANT: REMEMBER TO HEAT THE MAKLER AT 37ºC BEFORE USING IT (10 MINUTES IN THE INCUBATOR OR ON HEATING STAGE).

Mix the material well, taking care not to generate bubbles.
Place a little drop in the centre of the disc region using a wooden rod or pipette.
Take hold of the cover glass with your fingers opposite the black dots, then position it on the four pins promptly.
Gently press, watching for the emergence of colour fringes.
The drop will spread across the whole surface of the disc to a thickness of 10 microns.
After the cover glass is in place, avoid contact, lifting, and covering the chamber again, because this may disrupt the uniform distribution of sperm within it.
Place the chamber on the microscope's stage using the handles.
To correctly fit it, use the chamber grip.

Sperm count:

The sperm heads within the squares of the grid are counted in the same way blood cells are counted in a haemocytometer.

If the quantity of sperm is significant, count them in a strip of 10 squares. The value represents their concentration in millions per ml.

To determine the average, repeat this count in another strip or two. To maximize the reliability of the count result, it is advised that the count be conducted from 2 or 3 different drops of the material. In the event of oligospermic specimens, it is recommended that sperm be counted across the whole grid area. The concentration in millions per mL is then calculated by adding five zeros to the amount counted.

Cleaning and preparation for reuse:

Do not use tap water to rinse or wet the chamber. Simply dip the brush in water or a noncorrosive antiseptic solution and wash both sides of the glasses. Then, squeeze the brush to remove any residual water. Finally, use lint-free lens paper to dry the surface.

Prevent touching the pin points as much as possible. The chamber can now be reused.

Makler Sperm Counting Chamber for CASA is the same as the non-Casa system, with the exception of the cover glass which has no Grid