Abstract
Oocyte quality impacts early embryonic survival and the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. The cellular and molecular basis assessments of oocyte quality may be regarded as potential predictors of oocyte developmental competence. However, these methods are invasive and therefore have no value as prediction tools in Assisted Reproductive Technology. On the other hand, we developed a novel cell respiration measuring system, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). This measuring system is able to determine the respiratory activity of individual embryos non-invasively and quantitatively. Therefore, the SECM may be useful to assess the quality of embryos and oocytes in mammals. In the present review, we describe the SECM procedures briefly and our analysis of respiratory activity in the porcine oocytes using by the SECM.
