The Dynamics of Human Sperm Droplets on a Liquid Crystal and Polymer Composite Film

Abstract

A switchable surface using a liquid crystal and polymer composite film (LCPCF) based on phase separation between liquid crystals (LC) and polymers after photopolymerization is developed recently. The wettability of LCPCF is electrically tunable because of the orientation of liquid crystal directors anchored among the polymer grains under an in-planed electric field. A water droplet on the top of LCPCF can be manipulated under an inhomogeneous electric field on the LCPCF owning to the wettability gradient. The dynamics of a droplet of human sperms on the LCPCF is demonstrated as well. Three motions of sperm droplets are observed: the droplet collapse and the droplet stretch,. We found that the dynamics, concentrations, and activities of spermatozoa, affect the motions of a sperm droplet. The potential applications of LCPCF are polarizer-free displays, liquid lenses, and the microfluidic device in assisted reproductive technology (ART)