Lipid Droplet Phase Transition in Freezing Cat Embryos and Oocytes Probed by Raman Spectroscopy.

ABSTRACT: Embryo and oocyte cryopreservation is a widely used technology for cryopreservation of genetic resources. One limitation of cryopreservation is the low tolerance to freezing observed for oocytes and embryos rich in lipid droplets. We apply Raman spectroscopy to investigate freezing of lipid droplets inside cumulus-oocyte complexes, mature oocytes, and early embryos of a domestic cat. Raman spectroscopy allows one to characterize the degree of lipid unsaturation, the lipid phase transition from the liquid-like disordered to solid-like ordered state, and the triglyceride polymorphic state. For all cells examined, the average degree of lipid unsaturation is estimated as ∼1.3 (with ±20% deviation) double bonds per acyl chain. The onset of the lipid phase transition occurs in a temperature rang

SUBMITTER: Okotrub KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6084414 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature