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We then demonstrated in vivo using the ewe as a model that vaginal gels containing chitosan could stop ram sperm at the entrance of the cervical canal and prevent them from reaching the uterus, whereas the same gels without chitosan did not substantially limit sperm migration. Chitosan did not affect sperm motility in vitro or in vivo, suggesting reinforcement of the mucus physical barrier as the primary mechanism of action. The chitosan formulations did not damage or irritate the ewe vaginal epithelium, in contrast to nonoxynol-9 spermicide. The demonstration that cervical mucus can be reinforced topically to create an effective barrier to sperm may therefore form the technological basis for muco-cervical barrier contraceptives with the potential to become an alternative to hormonal contraceptives.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/scitranslmed.abm2417","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,30]],"date-time":"2022-11-30T18:58:13Z","timestamp":1669834693000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Topical reinforcement of the cervical mucus barrier to sperm"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6372-0249","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ulrike","family":"Schimpf","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Glycoscience, Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering Science in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), AlbaNova University Center, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden."},{"name":"Department of 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