Assessment of spermicides by a stripping technique against human spermatozoa

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Abstract
Compounds (52) were tested for spermicidal activity by titration against human spermatozoa. The gradual decrease in mean sperm size was measured against increasing concentration of spermicide, and the end-point was taken as the point at which all the peripheral cytoplasm was removed and only the sperm core of nucleus and tail fibers remained. There was 14 compounds that produced this total effect. All were detergents of various types, and the effect was purely physical. The most potent compounds caused complete stripping at 0.5-50 pmol/cell, and most are already used in spermicidal preparations. A further 11 compounds, including sodium hypochloride and some phenols, caused partial stripping; 4 compounds caused sperm swelling. The test was not suitable for assessment of metabolic cell poisons.