Study of the Design and Development of a Prototype Cell Culture Centrifuge.

Abstract : This 1991-1992 Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) Clinic Team designed, built and tested a centrifuge prototype that will be used to investigate the effects of simulated gravity via centripetal force on the degrative effects common to living cells in a microgravity environment. Living cells have evolved on Earth in the presence of a gravitational field of one gee (g). WRAIR scientists have designed an experiment that attempts to limit cell atrophy using the centripetal force created by a spinning centrifuge to inhibit the destructive effects of microgravity on cells. The centrifuge prototype can accelerate to 8 rad/s, the angular velocity required to maintain a centripetal force equivalent to one g. The sixty-five pound centrifuge prototype can deliver the cell nutrients required for the experiment, and can monitor cell temperature and pH levels. The centrifuge is durable enough to withstand takeoff and continued operation throughout the duration of the mission. Testing of the prototype in microgravity aboard the KC-135 has proven the functionability of the design concept. Further development of the computer control system and structural design are required before the prototype can be space-qualified.