MICROSCOPY & IMAGING MICROSCOPY & IMAGING
equivalent to what they would experience in a standard tissue culture incubator. Te cells had to be kept at the temperature of the human body at in vivo conditions to mimic their native environment. Given the risk of sample degradation
over time and a potentially diminished ability to detect subtle effects of the spaceflight environment, completion of this analysis is time critical. “When the cells come back, there is no time to lose because you might miss subtle changes to cells,” explains Espinosa-Jeffrey. It was also extremely important to have dual stages so everything could be placed in parallel.
The Type IV unit used on the ISS
To meet the need for dedicated
microscopy resources, Espinosa-Jeffrey requested and was granted a one-month loan of a complete Cell Observer system from Zeiss Research Microscopy Solutions. Equipment identified as critical to her study included the Axio Observer 7 fully motorised inverted research microscope (equipped with Definite Focus 2); Axiocam 506 monochrome camera with Zen software; and Full Incubation
XL chamber for Temperature and CO2 control with motorized scanning stage. According to Espinosa-Jeffrey, the
Definite Focus 2 feature was vital to the experiment because it allows researchers to maintain focus position for long periods of time – irrespective of temperature changes, thermal drift, or mechanical drift. Tis ability to maintain focus for long periods of time is critical for extended time lapse studies. Using a motorised scanning stage, she was able to mark six to eight positions and xyz location using Zeiss tiles and positioning software. Ten she started the experiments, acquiring images every 10-15 minutes at each position, and repeating for the 72-hour duration. From
the position list developed she was able to create several time lapse movies that show cells growing and proliferating as well as other features such as migration.
FURTHER STUDIES NEEDED TO DESIGN EFFECTIVE COUNTERMEASURES Te proliferation of neural stem cells in space must be studied in more detail to determine the possible relationship to the visual impairment and intracranial pressure syndrome exhibited by astronauts in space and upon their return to Earth. Learning more is essential to be able to design effective countermeasures for astronauts working onboard the International Space Station and for long- term space travel.
Te next phase of the work will be
performed on SpaceX-21, a commercial resupply service mission to the International Space Station, planned to be launched by the end of 2020.
Scott Olenych is with Zeiss.
www.zeiss.com
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