Comparison of different methods of goat sperm selection and capacitation for optimization of assisted reproductive technologies

Abstract This study evaluated different methods of frozen–thawed sperm selection and capacitation in goats for further use in reproductive biotechnologies. In Experiment 1, semen was processed by the following techniques: mini-Percoll, swim-up, or washing by centrifugation. In Experiment 2, mini-Percoll selected-sperm was subjected to capacitation induction by incubation with: 50 μg/mL heparin, 10 μM, 50 μM, or 100 μM of sodium nitroprusside (SNP). Motility, vigor, acrosome, and plasma membrane (PM) integrity were evaluated after thawing and after each treatment of sperm selection or capacitation. In Experiment 1, washing by centrifugation presented greater (43%; P P P  = 0.0002) and acrosome ( P  = 0.0004) showed an interaction effect between the buck and swim-up technique. In Experiment 2, the addition of 100 μM SNP resulted in greater ( P P