On Friday, April 8, SpaceX successfully launched the two-stage Falcon 9 rocket carrying a set of life science experiments that utilize technology originally developed at Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) in Claremont, California. The booster successfully returned to earth and landed on a ship at sea, an important first-time milestone. The Dragon cargo spacecraft carrying the experiments and other supplies took a few days to reach the International Space Station (ISS) and was captured by astronauts on April 10.
The life science experiments developed at NASA Ames were delivered to ISS and included a module known as Wetlab-2, which contains sample preparation devices and reagents developed by Claremont BioSolutions, LLC (ClaremontBio), a spin-out of KGI that was founded by three KGI faculty members.
Once on board the ISS, the WetLab-2 module will be used to study how spaceflight affects gene expression in microbes and mammalian cells to shed light on molecular and cellular mechanisms in microgravity environments. The customized OmniLyse® and RNAexpress™ components of ClaremontBio’s SimplePrep™ technology will seamlessly lyse bacteria, yeast, and mammalian cells and isolate total RNA for downstream analysis. As part of NASA’s flight qualifications, ClaremontBio’s technology was rigorously tested for over two years, including efficiency and reproducibility tests in non-orbital, in-flight microgravity conditions.
In speaking about the launch, ClaremontBio’s president and co-founder, Dr. Robert Doebler, said, “This is an exciting time for Claremont BioSolutions; in addition to having our OmniLyse® and RNAexpress™ devices aboard the ISS, WetLab-2’s Sample Prep Module provides unique validation of our technology to add to a growing list of published data that demonstrate superior performance of our miniaturized sample prep devices.”
Reflecting on the role KGI has played in this project, Dr. Jim Sterling, KGI professor and co-founder of Claremont BioSolutions, added, “We are very pleased that technologies developed in KGI labs have enabled RNA analysis in space. Rapid and simple nucleic acid extraction opens new avenues for point-of-care diagnostics and novel approaches to automation of life sciences research.”
