Validation of a Two-Dimensional Clinostat Design to Provide Functional Weightlessness to Custom Gas Exchange Vessels

<p>Understanding the impacts of microgravity on bacteria is vital for successful long duration space missions. In this environment, bacteria have been shown to become more virulent, more resistant to antibiotics and form more biofilms. To learn more about these phenomena, many experiments must be sent to the International Space Station, which is cost- and time prohibitive. Instead, the use of ground-based analogs is advantageous to define preliminary results that can later be verified with a space-based experiment. This research explored the development of an innovative 2D clinostat for simulating microgravity using bacteria. Computational fluid dynamics, standards established by previous literature and biological test methods were utilized to validate the system’s functionality. More specifically, biological validation consisted of optical density, biofilm analysis and gene regulation. Additionally, prototype vessels were created to utilize aerobic bacteria on future clinostat experiments.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - Open Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Year dc:date.available

2021

Author dc:creator

• Topolski, Collin R

• simulated microgravity
• bacteria
• gene expression
• gravitational biology
• computational fluid dynamics
• Biomechanical Engineering

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.erau.edu/edt/597

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.erau.edu:edt-1607