The Sperm-Sus-Halomax kit burst into the market as a pioneering product for the analysis of fragmentation levels in boar spermatozoa. It is a simple test that has its origin in a variant of the Sperm Chromatin Dispersion protocol currently employed in humans (SCD; Fernández et al. 2003. J. Androl. 24:49-66) which has been adapted for boar spermatozoa. This new methodology provides a simple way to distinguish, even at low magnification, spermatozoa with and without fragmented DNA, giving high quality images both under fluorescence and light microscopy.
Sperm-Sus-Halomax is based on the differential response of fragmented and unfragmented boar spermatozoa nuclei to a deproteinization treatment. The extraction of nuclear proteins from the spermatozoa with fragmented DNA, releases the fragments of DNA and chromatin is dispersed around forming a low stained peripheral halo. These images contrast sharply with the highly stained nuclei of the spermatozoa in centered position. On the contrary, those spermatozoa with unfragmented DNA do not develop dispersion halo, or if the halo is developed, it appears as a very thin crown around the nuclei. Thus, Sperm-Sus-Halomax kit allows estimating the proportion of spermatozoa with fragmented DNA as additional information for fertility evaluation.
