Pipelined batch-operation process of nuclear transplantation based on micro-manipulation system

Nuclear transplantation is one of key procedure in animal cloning. Traditional batch-operation of nuclear transplantation is manipulated by professional operators under the view of microscope and the operation process is too complex and time consuming. Operating time is also important factor that influences the success rate of nuclear transfer. In this paper, more reasonable operating process is designed for higher efficiency. This paper proposes a pipelined batch-operation of nuclear transplantation based on micro-manipulation system. Two micropipettes are added in the system to transport and collect oocytes, meanwhile, the injection micropipette is replaced by two parallel micropipettes which are used to remove the genetic material and implant donor cells respectively. The microscopic view is relatively fixed when operating. This process reduces the moving time of objective conversion and motorized stage, reduces frequent focusing and improves the efficiency of the batch nuclear transfer. A pneumatic syringe is designed for stable cell movement in the micropipette. A vision recognition algorithm is also proposed to enable the visual feedback function of the system. Finally, the results of experiment prove the validity of the process. The efficiency of this method is improved by 25%, compared with the traditional method.