Cell separation and electrofusion in spaceIn microgravity, free-fluid electrophoretic methods for separating living cells and proteins are improved significantly by the absence of gravity-driven phenomena. Cell fusion, culture, and other bioprocessing steps are being investigated to understand the limits of earth-based processing. A multistep space bioprocess is described that includes electrophoretic separation of human target cells, single-cell manipulations using receptor-specific antibodies, electrofusion to produce immortal hybridomas, gentle suspension culture, and monoclonal antibody recovery using continuous-flow electrophoresis or recirculating isoelectric focusing. Improvements in several key steps already have been demonstrated by space experiments, and others will be studied on Space Station Freedom.
Document ID
19910054341
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Morrison, D. R. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Hofmann, G. A. (BTX, Inc. San Diego, CA, United States)