Methylglyoxal (MG) is a precursor for the generation of endogenous advanced glycation endproducts involved in various diseases, including infertility. The present study evaluated the motility and developmental competence after in vitro fertilization of mouse sperm which were exposed to MG in the capacitation medium for 1.5 h. Sperm motility was analyzed using an SQA-V automated sperm quality analyzer. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, and DNA damage were assessed using flow cytometry. The matured oocytes were inseminated with MG-exposed sperm, and subsequently, the fertilization and embryonic development in vitro were evaluated in vitro. The exposure of sperm to MG did not considerably affect the swim-up of sperm but resulted in a deteriorated sperm motility in a concentration-dependent manner, which was associated with a decreased mitochondrial activity. However, these effects was not accompanied by obvious ROS accumulation or DNA damage. Furthermore, MG diminished the fertilization rate and developmental competence, even after normal fertilization. Collectively, a short-term exposure to MG during sperm capacitation had a critical impact on sperm motility and subsequent embryonic development after fertilization. Considering that sperm would remain in vivo for up to 3 days until fertilization, our findings suggest that sperm can be affected by MG in the female reproductive organs, which may be associated with infertility.

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We have successfully generated 250-mm-long atmospheric pressure thermal plasma beam (AP-TPB) by adding 0.5 l min−1 of nitrogen (N2) gas to 1.4 l min−1 of argon (Ar) DC arc discharge. AP-TPB heated the silicon (Si) wafer to 803 °C which fixed at 180 mm away from the plasma source. Furthermore, the AP-TPB blowing direction was scanned by applying an external alternate magnetic field near the ejection orifice. The maximum scanning angle reached 85° when magnetic flux density was 15.5 mT. By combining the AP-TPB and magnetic field scanning, the annealing area of thermal plasma was expanded, and we have successfully annealed a 4 inch Si wafer uniformly. The average temperature and variation was 671 °C and ±7%, respectively, by using sinusoidal for electromagnets current.