Advanced Organic Materials Separation Process (ADSEP)

The Advanced Organic Materials Separation Process experiment enhances separation technologies for medical products. Separation, purification and classification of cells are limiting factors in biomedical research and pharmaceutical drug development. Advanced separation technology is designed to foster separation capabilities for terrestrial commercial application and microgravity research.

This particular mission, in collaboration with biomedical researchers, focused on understanding gravitational effects on the manufacture of recombinant hemoglobin products. This area may have significant impact on blood transfusion products where transfusion of hemoglobin rather than whole blood, can reduce complications such as blood rejection, infectious disease transmission, and blood contamination in areas without suitable storage capability, etc.

Sponsors:
Consortium for Materials Development in Space, University of Alabama - Huntsville
Space Hardware Optimization Technology (SHOT) Inc.

Commercial Float Zone Furnace (CFZF)

Commercial Float Zone Furnace experiments attempt to produce large, ultra-pure compound semiconductor and mixed oxide crystals for electronic devices and infrared detectors. A liquid encapsulate around the float zone to promote the growth of a larger crystal in the microgravity environment is used. Telescience is to enable researchers on the ground to view and/or control the melts and work with the astronauts to control the melts.

Sponsors:
Atramet, Inc.
Canadian Space Agency
German Space Agency
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
University of Florida

Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA)

The Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus houses investigations on a variety of molecular, cellular, tissue and small animal and plant systems. These include evaluation of pharmaceutical production of bacterial and fungal systems, crystallization of oligonucleotides-RNA to gain 3-D structural information for drug design in AIDS research, administration of a proprietary chemical to enhance bone marrow macrophage differentiation, and tests of proprietary cell growth inhibitors (cancer research). The CGBA houses a number of small test tube-size fluid mixing syringes controlled in temperature-controlled lockers holding 272 individual experiments.

Sponsors:
Amgen
BioServe Space Technologies
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Chiron Corporation
Kansas State University Research Foundation
Lockheed Martin
NeXstar
Synchrocell

Commercial Protein Crystal Growth investigations use two techniques. One is a process driven by temperature change that produce crystals of a new form of recombinant human insulin; the other uses vapor diffusion to crystallize different proteins with objectives that address a range of diseases. The insulin crystals support a better understanding of the protein's structure to help understand the mode of action of this new form of insulin which could lead to a new pharmaceutical for more effective treatment of diabetes. The microgravity environment helps to produce large, well-ordered protein crystals that can be used for x-ray diffraction studies to determine the three-dimensional structures of the individual proteins. Knowledge of these structures can facilitate the development of new or more effective pharmaceuticals to combat diseases.

The vapor diffusion experiments use flight hardware that is an improved adaptation of the most common laboratory method for growing protein crystals; it provides for 128 individual experiments. The temperature-driven hardware uses sample holders of different volumes, with different temperature gradients, to test systems that provide industry with more operational flexibility, and allow smaller amounts of expensive sample materials.

Sponsors:
BioCryst
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Center for Macromolecular Crystallography, University of Alabama in Birmingham
Eli Lilly and Company

The second mission of the Fluids Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus represents a significant evolutionary step in fluids management technology. The experiment provides a test bed to determine if carbonated beverages can be produced from separately stored carbon dioxide, water and flavored syrups and determine if the resulting fluids can be made available for consumption without bubble nucleation and resulting foam formation. The experiment also verifies and generates additional data on the effects of space flight on changes in taste perception.

Such data might aid in understanding altered tastes in specific target populations on Earth, such as the elderly, and eventually lead to altered beverage formulations that could increase hydration for such individuals and for astronauts. A long-term commercial goal of the industry sponsor is to make its beverages pervasive wherever humans live and work. In addition, technology and lessons learned from this mission will be applied to other commercial space life sciences activities including the development of plant growth and cell culture biotechnology facilities, closed environment research facilities and other projects that require management of two-phase fluids.

Sponsors:
The Coca-Cola Company
BioServe Space Technologies
Lockheed Martin Astronautics
Ohmeda Corporation

Gas Permeable Polymer Membranes use microgravity for development of enhanced polymers for manufacture of improved rigid gas permeable contact lenses. Polymer development of lens material in microgravity has shown polymers can be formed that have greater uniformity of structure, increased gas permeability allowing greater oxygen flow for improved comfort to wearers, greater durability of material, and greater machinability in the manufacture process.

Sponsors:
NASA Langley Research Center
Paragon Vision Sciences

Four Handheld Diffusion Test Cell (HHDTC) experiment units, each containing eight test cells, grow protein crystals by diffusing one liquid into another. In liquid-liquid diffusion, different fluids are brought into contact but not mixed. Over time, the fluids will diffuse into each other through random motion of molecules. The gradual increase in concentration of the precipitant within the protein solution causes the proteins to crystallize. Liquid-liquid diffusion is difficult on earth because differences in solution densities allow mixing by gravity-driven thermal convection. In addition, the greater density of the crystals allows them to settle into inappropriate parts of the cell.

The proteins grown in microgravity include: lysozyme, catalase, concanavalin b, cnavalin, myoglobin, thaumatin, ferritin, apoferritin, satellite tobacco mosaic virus and turnip yellow mosaic virus.

Sponsors:
NASA

The Immune-3 experiment tests the ability of Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF-I) to prevent or reduce the detrimental effects of space flight on the immune and skeletal systems of rats. This flight experiment provides an opportunity to test the immunorestorative and preventive potential of IGF-I in rats whose immune response and skeletal development are altered by space flight. The ability of IGF-I to prevent immune changes or restore immune function could have an impact on future product development. Moreover, its ability to prevent the reduced bone formation accompanying space flight may provide new product markets and a future therapeutic for long-term space missions.

The microgravity environment and the stress of space flight provide unique opportunities for testing the efficacy of a host of biological substances such as cytokines which can improve immunity. The potential results to be obtained in the proposed study could have direct benefits to astronauts on prolonged space station or Space Exploration Initiative experiments.

In addition, the proposed research could potentially yield significant earth-bound spin-off applications. For example, acquired knowledge could be used to begin development of protocols designed to protect the immune systems of patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy, to treat patients with AIDS, primary immuno-deficiency and a broad range of infectious diseases. The applications toward a variety of bone disorders are currently under investigation, and should be aided by the findings of the proposed study.

This commercial space research should help to develop new markets and optimize techniques for use of cytokines such as IGF-I. The success of such experiments should also make space research of this nature increasingly attractive to other biotechnology companies.

Sponsors:
Chiron Corporation
BioServe Space Technologies
Kansas State University
NASA Ames Research Center

The NIH-C-7 experiment investigates the effect of space flight on musculoskeletal development at the cellular level. The experiment uses a computerized tissue culture incubator known as the Space Tissue Loss Culture Module to study cells in microgravity. The experiment studies the effects of space flight on muscle and bone cells from chicken embryos. Results of this research may lead to development of measures to maintain the strength of muscles and bones during long-duration space voyages and may provide insights and health benefits for people on earth as well.

The scientific objective of the NIH/NASA collaboration is to investigate fundamental biological processes governing cell action under different levels of gravity. The effects of space flight on bone cells, specifically the calcification and developmental activity in maturing cartilage cells is examined. Other studies include the effects of space flight on muscles to determine if microgravity causes damage or loss of muscle fibers, using special markers of cell damage, growth assays, measurements of muscle size and multiple biochemical assessments.

Sponsors:
NASA
National Institutes of Health
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research

The Plant Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus will investigate the change in the production of secondary metabolites in microgravity. Investigations include the study of Artimisia annua, which produces an antimalarial compound, and Cataranthus roseus, which produces chemotherapeutic compounds. A study was made of the effects of space flight on starch, sugar and fatty acid content of special strains of spinach plants. A forestry products company is interested in the lignin production and reaction in wood formation in loblolly pine, and clover plants will be included to study the nitrogen fixation mechanism in microgravity. STS-77 is the first space mission of the PGBA.

Sponsors:
American Foundation for AIDS Research
American Heart Foundation
Amgen
BioServe Space Technologies
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Chiron Corporation
Connaught
Farnam Companies
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Lockheed Martin
NeXstar
Paragon Space Development Co.
Research Seeds, Inc.
Space Hardware Optimization Technology (SHOT), Inc.
Synchrocell
Syntro Vet
University of South Carolina
Water Solutions Tech.
WTC-Ecomaster, Inc.

The Space Experiment Facility houses a crystal growth experiment and a metals experiment. The crystal growth experiment will use the SEF's transparent furnace and focuses on mercurous chloride. Mercurous chloride is a valuable electro-optic material of commercial interest. Larger and higher quality mercurous chloride crystals could improve devices used in spectral imaging.

The metals experiment, conducted in SEF's opaque furnace, uses liquid phase sintering (LPS) to bond powdered metals. LPS may provide greater understanding of alloy behavior and porosity on these metal composites. One area that could potentially benefit from improved metal composites is the tool industry.

Sponsors:
The Boeing Company
Consortium for Materials Development in Space, University of Alabama in Huntsville
McDonnell Douglas Corporation
Northrop Grumman, Science and Technology Center, Electronics and Sensors Division
Teledyne Advanced Materials
Westinghouse Corporation