Hydrodynamic Clustering of Human Sperm in Viscoelastic Fluids

Abstract We have numerically investigated sperm clustering behaviours, modelling cells as superpositions of regularised flow singularities, coarse-grained from experimentally obtained digital microscopy of human sperm, both in watery medium and a highly viscous–weakly elastic, methylcellulose medium...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Kenta Ishimoto, Eamonn A. Gaffney
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2018
Materias:
R
Q
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/e9a3a09029894996b5ce36a92df5007e
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:Abstract We have numerically investigated sperm clustering behaviours, modelling cells as superpositions of regularised flow singularities, coarse-grained from experimentally obtained digital microscopy of human sperm, both in watery medium and a highly viscous–weakly elastic, methylcellulose medium. We find that the cell yaw and cell pulling dynamics inhibit clustering in low viscosity media. In contrast clustering is readily visible in simulations modelling sperm within a methylcellulose medium, in line with previous observations that bovine sperm clustering is much more prominent in a rheological polyacrylamide medium. Furthermore, the fine-scale details of sperm flagellar movement substantially impact large-scale collective behaviours, further motivating the need for the digital microscopy and characterization of sperm to understand their dynamics.