Exploring the Movement of Tiny, Engineered Particles in Space for Applications From Drug Delivery to Water Desalination

CAPE CANAVERAL (FL), August 1, 2024 – Researchers from Florida International University (FIU) and Colorado Mesa University will leverage the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) National Laboratory to explore the potential of tiny particles engineered to extract and use energy from their surroundings for self-propulsion. These particles, called active colloids, could lead to valuable innovations, ranging from targeted drug delivery and disease screening to improved water desalination and cutting-edge photothermal therapies to treat cancer and other diseases.

This U.S. National Science Foundation-funded project will delve into the behavior of active colloids within liquid and gel mediums. Scientists engineered these microscopic powerhouses to give them self-propulsion capabilities. The collective self-movement of the particles is reminiscent of group movement in nature, such as behaviors akin to flocks of migrating birds or schools of fish. By utilizing the space station’s microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment. environment, the research team can dissect particle movement without interference from gravity-driven forces like buoyancy and sedimentation.

“Our goal is to explore the full potential of active colloids and pave the way for their use across vital domains such as water, medicine, and energy,” said project leader Alicia Boymelgreen, a mechanical engineer and assistant professor at FIU.  “By exploring their behavior in microgravity, we have a chance to understand how these objects can be driven, how they move, how we can control their movement, and also how we can control their interactions. These insights could lead to advancements that will shape their use in the future.”

The experiment will take place within a Space Tango CubeLab onboard the space station. Boymelgreen’s team, which includes co-principal investigator Jarrod Schiffbauer, a physicist with Colorado Mesa University, will combine microgravity experiments and theoretical modeling to gain a better understanding of active colloid transport. The absence of gravity-induced settling allows the researchers to measure particle mobility in bulk, providing valuable insights to inform theoretical models and elucidate the complex dynamics of active matter. Results from this investigation will advance our fundamental understanding of thermodynamics and the physics of group behavior in living systems on Earth. Results also have the potential to ignite advancements in colloidal assembly, a field with promising applications both in space and on Earth.

This project is slated to launch on Northrop Grumman’s 21^st Commercial Resupply Services mission(Abbreviation: CRS mission) A CRS mission is a cargo resupply mission contracted by NASA to deliver supplies and research to the International Space Station on commercial spacecraft as part of the CRS contract with three commercial companies. As part of CRS missions, experiments currently return to Earth on SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that splash down in the ocean., contracted by NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration, no earlier than 11:28 a.m. EDT on August 3, 2024. This mission, launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, will include more than 20 ISS National Lab-sponsored payloads. To learn more about all ISS National Lab-sponsored research on this mission, please visit our launch page.

Download a high-resolution photo: Student researcher Sandeep Ramteke

Media Contact:
Patrick O’Neill
904-806-0035
PONeill@ISSNationalLab.org

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About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory: The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Laboratory® allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve quality of life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles.. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology, and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space™ (CASIS™(Abbreviation: CASIS™) The nonprofit organization that manages the ISS National Lab, which receives at least 50 percent of the U.S. research allocation on the International Space Station to facilitate research that benefits humanity (NASA manages the other 50% and focuses on research for space exploration purposes).) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative AgreementA cooperative agreement is Federal assistance that establishes a relationship between the U.S. Government and a recipient in which the principal purpose of the relationship is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation.  Since 2011, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space™ (CASIS™) has managed the National Laboratory® through a Cooperative Agreement with NASA. with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit our website.

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