Effect of red light on the development and quality of mammalian embryos

Purpose To assess irradiance and total energy dose from different microscopes during the in-vitro embryonic developmental cycle in mouse and pig and to evaluate its effect on embryonic development and quality in pig. Method Spectral scalar irradiance (380–1050 nm) was measured by a fiber-optic microsensor in the focal plane of a dissection microscope, an inverted microscope and a time-lapse incubation system. Furthermore, the effect of three different red light levels was tested in the time-lapse system on mouse zygotes for 5 days, and on porcine zona-intact and zona-free parthenogenetically activated (PA) embryos for 6 days. Results The time-lapse system used red light centered at 625 nm and with a lower irradiance level as compared to the white light irradiance levels on the dissection and inverted microscopes, which included more energetic radiation