Akiba T, Nishi A, Takaoki M, Matsumiya H, Tomita F, Usami R, Nagaoka S
The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, Wako, Japan.
Acta Astronaut. 1995 Aug;36(3):177-81. doi: 10.1016/0094-5765(95)00098-k.
We demonstrated free flow electrophoresis (FFE) of charged cells under microgravity, where gravitational effects are almost eliminated. Separation of a mixture of three bacterial strains (mutants of Salmonella typhimurium LT2) by FFE was conducted on NASA Space Shuttle flight STS-47 (September 1992). The experiment was designed to differentiate three strains having different lipopolysaccharide core structures in the cell membrane. The results were compared to those of ground experiments, in order to examine whether or not FFE in a weightless environment provides distinct advantages. Smooth strain SL1027 and rough strain SL3749 migrated to two separated fractions. The quality (viability) and the yields of the separated samples were sufficient to show the advantage of microgravity. Another rough strain, SL1102, exhibited unexpected electrophoretic behavior, which prevented the complete resolution of the three strains. All the strains were recovered as viable cells after 8 days of flight. The present study suggests that electrophoretic separation of bacterial cells is much more effective under microgravity conditions with relatively good resolution in comparison with the ground operation.
我们展示了在微重力环境下（重力影响几乎可忽略不计）带电细胞的自由流动电泳（FFE）。通过FFE对三种细菌菌株（鼠伤寒沙门氏菌LT2突变体）的混合物进行分离的实验是在NASA航天飞机STS - 47飞行任务（1992年9月）中进行的。该实验旨在区分细胞膜中具有不同脂多糖核心结构的三种菌株。将实验结果与地面实验结果进行比较，以检验在失重环境下FFE是否具有明显优势。光滑菌株SL1027和粗糙菌株SL3749迁移到两个分离的组分中。分离样品的质量（活力）和产量足以显示微重力的优势。另一种粗糙菌株SL1102表现出意想不到的电泳行为，这使得三种菌株无法完全分离。飞行8天后，所有菌株均作为活细胞被回收。本研究表明，与地面操作相比，在微重力条件下细菌细胞的电泳分离更有效，分辨率相对较好。
