Abstrait

Glass transition temperature (Tg) as a measure of sperm fertility

Sudha Srivastava

 Contraception being the need for the hour, we have synthesized few analogues of nifedipine, an L-type calcium channel blocker and evaluated their effects on sperm fertility. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of spermatozoa has been monitored to characterize the cellular damage due to aging or by external agents. We have shown that the Tg can be used as a marker to measure infertility caused by external agents. The cellular damage can be due to the cell immobilization or due to the membrane alteration ultimately leading to infertility. Results have been supported by measuring the cell motility, metabolism and lipid peroxidation; the well established markers for estimating the sperm fertility. In search of non-hormonal male contraceptives, analogues of nifedipine, which causes reversible infertility, have been synthesized and their interaction at molecular level with model membrane has been probed.