SSPC researchers outside Varda Space Industries.
A new collaborative project aims to assess how gravity influences the properties of molecules, which could ‘transform’ the realms of materials and pharmaceuticals.
Irish researchers have teamed up with US-based Varda Space Industries to improve healthcare through the study of microgravity.
A team from SSPC, the Research Ireland Centre for Pharmaceuticals, wants to look at the impact gravity has on small molecules both in space and on Earth, which could boost both material and pharmaceutical industries.
The research is investigating polymorphism, the ability of a molecule to exist in multiple crystal forms – with each crystal form being known as a polymorph. These different polymorphs can have very different properties and the team says understanding and controlling this process is important in drug manufacturing.
To understand this process better, researchers from SSPC and Varda are working on mathematical models that can show how gravity influences crystallisation and polymorphism.
“While the behaviour of fluids in microgravity is well understood, the link between fluid motion and crystallisation outcomes – especially with respect to changes in the resulting crystal structure – has never been previously addressed,” claims Varda’s chief science officer Adrian Radocea.
The researchers hope that their model can help the pharma industry expand into low Earth orbit and use the benefits of microgravity to improve drug performances on Earth. SSPC director Prof Damien Thompson says the research could “transform the way we approach challenges in the realms of materials and pharmaceuticals”.
“We are always pushing forward as a centre, exploring new ways of creating materials through modelling-guided experimentation with our wide range of research partners worldwide,” Thompson said. “Having world-class expertise at SSPC in predictive modelling has enabled us to build this exciting collaboration with Varda that takes us literally ‘out of this world’.”
Dr Norah Patten – a Mayo-born aeronautical engineer – is set to become the first person from Ireland to go to space as part of an international spaceflight mission set for 2026. This mission will see Patten work to further our understanding of microgravity.
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