Monitoring Apoptosis and Cytotoxicity of Anti-tumor Drugs in Microgravity

Cell culturing in space and/or microgravity offers numerous advantages and opens new applications for faster drug discovery and understanding gene expression. A growing body of data suggests cell growth in microgravity results in up-regulation of apoptotic pathways. Understanding apoptosis in microgravity will be crucial for long-term NASA missions, and it could provide valuable data on effects of radiation on cell growth. Both sensors will be incorporated into a microfluidic design and will be integrated into a single instrument easily adapted to current bioreactors (in space or rotating wall bioreactors on Earth) for on-line detection. Both sensors will use a relatively simple signal transduction system based on AC impedance. The instrument will also incorporate a sampling and separation module. The operation of the proposed instrument will be mostly automated. A compatibility of the proposed system with microgravity conditions will be tested by monitoring cell growth/induced apoptosis in rotating wall bioreactors. Compatibility of the design instrument may be also tested with existing spaceflight hardware. At the end of the Phase II, a working prototype will be delivered to NASA.