Different mineral oils used for embryo culture microdrop overlay differentially impact media evaporation

Mineral oil is an important component of the embryo culture system; serving as a means to avoid media off gassing and stabilizing pH, providing temperature stability and helping avoid evaporation and harmful osmolality increases. Stability of media osmolality is especially important considering the increased use of non-humidified benchtop incubators and uninterrupted embryo culture media system. Several types of mineral oil are available for use during embryo culture, which can vary in viscosity and density.