Astronauts to Test USF Students’ Wound Research
Location: Tampa, Fla.
Four University of South Florida (USF) undergraduates, along with their mentors, are taking their innovative hydrogel experiment to the International Space Station (ISS). This pioneering research focuses on hydrogel, a substance that can accelerate wound healing—even for astronauts under their space suits.
The Hydrogel Experiment
Key Details:
- Students Involved: Seniors Jaiden Brick and Krystal Walford, alongside sophomores Jade Fei and Hannah Kirschenmann, engineered an antimicrobial and biodegradable hydrogel. This work is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP), specifically Mission 21.
Experimental Setup:
- The team uses “mini-labs” consisting of small tubes divided into three compartments:
- One chamber contains a fully formed hydrogel for Earth control experiments.
- Two chambers hold the separate ingredients necessary for making the hydrogel.
Once in space, astronauts will shake the mini-labs to mix the ingredients in microgravity.
Scheduled Launch: The mini-labs are set to launch with SpaceX Mission 21 on October 13.
Student Reflections: Jaiden Brick expressed their excitement, saying, “It’s crazy. I feel like I’m closing out my time in college with something super amazing.”
Future Plans
After their journey in space, the mini-labs will return to USF’s Advanced Membrane and Materials Bio and Integration Research (AMBIR) Lab. Here, the research team will compare the properties of the space-formed hydrogel with that made on Earth.
Goals:
- The team aims to explore whether the microgravity environment improves the hydrogel’s properties, potentially leading to enhanced medical therapies that could benefit treatments on Earth.
Mentorship Team
The undergraduates are guided by a team of mentors which includes:
- Sylvia Wilson Thomas, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
- Eva Fernandez, Ph.D. Student, Medical Engineering
- Ridita Khan, Ph.D., Electrical Engineering
- Tuhin Bhattacharjee, Ph.D. Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- Saundra Johnson Austin, Ed.D.
For more information on this exciting research, watch the featured video here.
