CsI(Eu)晶体空间生长地面实验

人工晶体在高技术领域具有十分重要的应用.在多组分晶体生长过程中,由于分凝的存在,会导致成分沿晶体生长方向产生变化,从而影响到晶体性能的均匀性,对应用产生不利影响.为研究微重力对多组分晶体分凝的影响,利用天宫二号卫星进行空间晶体生长实验.结合晶体生长特性和天宫二号综合材料实验装置的技术条件,确定以铕掺杂CsI晶体为研究对象.在地面研制阶段,CsI（Eu）晶体样品顺利通过力学环模试验,并在地面实验中生长出质量较高的CsI晶体,样品中存在明显的组分分凝.      

航天简讯

航天简讯在“尤里卡”上成功地生长虾壳色素蛋白质晶体在空间制造虾壳色素的蛋白质晶体，是由欧空局（ＥＳＡ）的回收型试验卫星“尤里卡”完成的。在微重力条件下因无对流产生，和地面相比能产生粒子大的晶体。倘若能查明其结晶的立体结构，对人类研究蛋白质晶体是一大贡...     

微重力结晶实验成功率较低

美国一个研究小组说,尽管花费数百万美元把科学实验送入几乎无重力的空间,迄今为止,结果证明是得不偿失。自从探索微重力条件下蛋白质晶体是否比在地面生长得更好的首次试验以来已近十年,但是研究人员在《大自然》杂志上说,“在蛋白质晶体生长方面尚未得到任何有意义的突破”。     

空间环境对InSb晶体生长的影响

为了研究太空微重力环境对InSb 晶体生长的影响,在空间进行了InSb 晶体的重熔和再结晶实验。实验结果表明,空间可以生长出结构较完整、组份均匀的高质量单晶。另外还证明了利用多用途单晶生长炉内一侧余热进行单晶生长的可行性。     

微重力下胶原蛋白纤维化及羟基磷灰石结晶的初步研究

在长期空间飞行过程中, 骨质丢失是一个严重问题. 羟基磷灰石(HAP)晶体是骨骼的主要成分, 骨骼中的胶原蛋白纤维在HAP生长结晶过程中起到关键作用. 研究了胶原蛋白纤维化过程在模拟微重力和常重力条件下的变化, 对以胶原 蛋白纤维作为模板生长出的HAP晶体形貌进行了观察. 结果表明, 不同浓度胶原蛋白溶液中形成的胶原蛋白纤维, 其内部孔隙数量和尺寸在模拟微重力条件下要明显大于常重力条件下, 胶原蛋白纤维内部孔隙的分布也不同于常重力条 件下的结果. 以模拟微重力条件下形成的胶原蛋白纤维为模板生长出的HAP 晶体主要为立方体状, 而以常重力条件下形成的胶原蛋白纤维为模板生长出的 HAP晶体形貌主要为板状. 该结果有助于未来进一步阐明空间骨质丢失的机理.      

空间微重力条件下碲镉汞晶体的布里支曼生长

在中国返回式卫星上进行了一台双温区空间晶体生长炉的搭载试验，成功地实现了空间微重力条件下碲镉汞晶体的布里支曼生长，取得了一些有意义的结果。文章介绍了这种晶体炉的设计和空间试验的过程；分析了回收样品的主要测试结果；并对空间材料加工装置的设计和一些相关工艺问题进行了讨论     

日研制晶体生长实验装置

日本的奥林匹斯光学、东北电子产业等10家公司,正研究在空间失重状态下可直接观察晶体生长过程的,用于航天飞机“外部载荷架上的独立实验装置”(GAS)中的晶体生长实验装置。它是由带有自动调焦部件的显微镜、纹影光学仪器及记录用的电视图像装置组合而成,该装置能观察水溶性晶体(邻苯二甲酸氢钾)生长的情况和生长速度。晶体生长是微重力实验中最有希望的实验项目,过去这种实验虽已做得较多,但全都是在微重力状态下做实验,返回地面后再对晶体解     

空间毛细管式蛋白质结晶室样品加载技术研究

采用X-elax射线衍射技术研究蛋白质分子结构与功能的必要前提是获得高质量的蛋白质晶体.空间微重力环境是生长优质蛋白质晶体的理想场所.蛋白质样品的加载工艺对于空间蛋白质结晶实验的成效具有重要影响.针对为神舟八号飞船空间实验新研制的毛细管式空间蛋白质结晶室,结合样品加载基本流程,对加载工艺和伴随的气泡缺陷问题进行了系统和深入分析,确定了针头形状、毛细管封口质量和硅化效果、样品加载工具以及毛细管夹持方式等影响因素,并获得了实验测试验证.在此基础上,通过改进毛细管烧制工艺和样品加载工具,研制和使用专用毛细管夹具等措施,简化了蛋白质样品加载工艺,消除了气泡缺陷,提高了加载效率.新工艺的实施保证了空间实验任务的顺利完成.      

航天之窗

我国近几年多次运用卫星搭载空间晶体炉在微重力条件下获得用于卫星通讯、微波通讯的优质砷化镓单晶。我国的空间晶体炉,具有功耗低、效率高、炉膛温度高的特点,以很低的成本获得了世界第一块空间生长的砷化镓。科学家还利用空间晶体悬浮重熔生长炉,首次在空间生长出半绝缘体砷化镓单晶。最近搭载的空间大直径晶体功率移动生长炉获得了世界上首次公开报道     

天宫二号碲化锌晶体生长

在天宫二号飞船综合材料实验炉六工位采用碲熔剂法生长了碲化锌晶体,生长时最高温度为800℃,以0.5mm·h-1的提拉速度向炉膛内部提拉生长晶体.飞行实验后,用相同实验参数在地面进行了对比实验.结果发现,空间样品尾部有一个非常大的橙色结晶区域（约10mm×6mm×2mm）,而地面生长样品中碲化锌晶体尺寸仅为约3mm×3mm×1mm,空间生长的碲化锌晶粒尺寸明显优于地面.空间微重力环境下,由于毛细作用,空间样品的塞子处有Te和ZnTe的外延膜生成.而地面生长的锭条在塞子处只有零星点状气相生产物.因此微重力条件有利于碲化锌晶体材料的生长.      

Protein crystal growth aboard the U.S. space shuttle flights STS-31 and STS-32.

The first microgravity protein crystal growth experiments were performed on Spacelab I by Littke and John. These experiments indicated that the space grown crystals, which were obtained using a liquid-liquid diffusion system, were larger than crystals obtained by the same experimental system on earth. Subsequent experiments were performed by other investigators on a series of space shuttle missions from 1985 through 1990. The results from two of these shuttle flights (STS-26 and STS-29) have been described previously. The results from these missions indicated that the microgravity grown crystals for a number of different proteins were larger, displayed more uniform morphologies, and yielded diffraction data to significantly higher resolutions than the best crystals of these proteins grown on earth. This paper presents the results obtained from shuttle flight STS-32 (flown in January, 1990) and preliminary results from the most recent shuttle flight, STS-31 (flown in April, 1990).     

THE SPACE EXPERIMENT OF PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZATION ABOARD THE CHINESE SPACECRAFT SZ-3

Using a new flight hardware, a Chinese mission of space protein crystallization has been performed on the Chinese spacecraft SZ-3 for seven days from March 25 to Apr. 1, 2002. The rate of yielding crystals in the 60 samples is 75%, a little higher than the ground control experiment. Preliminary analysis of the experimental results have shown that among the 16 proteins involved in the mission, about 4 kinds of better diffraction-quality protein crystals were produced in space. At least one kind of protein crystals, i.e. crystals of cytochrome b5 mutant could diffract X ray beyond the highest resolution reported so far. In addition, some rules derived from our numerical studies of the liquid/liquid diffusion protein crystallization were proved by the crystallization of lysozyme as model protein in this space experiment,which also clearly showed the advantages and disadvantages of the gelled protein solution used in microgravity growth of protein crystals. In order to exploit this mission, more diffraction work with the grown crystals and detailed analysis of data to be obtained will be done in the next few months.     

Strong magnetic field effect on the dissolution process of tetragonal lysozyme crystals.

Either a homogeneous or inhomogeneous magnetic field has been known to dampen the protein crystal growth. To date the mechanism is not clear. However, it was generally proposed that the magnetic field may dampen the convection in the solution, resulting in a reduced crystal growth rate and possibly a good crystal quality, similar to the case of protein crystal growth in space. To understand the mechanism of the magnetic field effect on protein crystal growth, further explorations on the magnetic field effect on protein solution, on the processes of crystal growth and dissolution, and on different crystallization (solution) systems, should be valuable. In this paper we present our recent efforts to study magnetic field effects on the dissolution processes of tetragonal lysozyme crystals under a strong magnetic field. A layer of oriented tetragonal lysozyme crystals was prepared under a temperature gradient and magnetic field, after that the crystals were dissolved by increasing the temperature of the solution. The lysozyme molecules will diffuse upwards due to the steep concentration gradient at the lower side of the cell caused by the dissolution. The evolution of the concentration in the solution was measured in-situ using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The results confirmed that the dissolution process of the crystals was slowed by the magnetic field. Judging from the concentration evolution versus time at different positions in the solution, we concluded that the apparent diffusion coefficient of lysozyme molecules was decreased by the magnetic field. The results were discussed using a suspended crystal model in the initial dissolution stage.     

空间低温溶液晶体生长的地基实验

首次使用疏水型聚四氟乙烯微孔滤膜,利用其透气不透水的特性,密封晶体生长容器,采用恒温蒸发法进行晶体生长.溶剂通过蒸发离开生长容器后,被生长容器外的吸附剂吸附,使得溶液维持一定过饱和度,以实现单晶的连续生长.在此基础上研制出一套空间低温溶液晶体生长地基模拟装置.利用此装置进行了一系列地基模拟实验,获得一批高质量α-LiIO₃单晶,证实了该生长装置的溶剂蒸发量和容器密封性能够满足空间低温溶液晶体生长需要,为未来空间低温溶液晶体生长实验奠定了基础.      

Thin film bioreactors in space.

Studies from the Skylab, SL-3 and D-1 missions have demonstrated that biological organisms grown in microgravity have changes in basic cellular functions such as DNA, mRNA and protein synthesis, cytoskeleton synthesis, glucose utilization and cellular differentiation. Since microgravity could affect prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells at a subcellular and molecular level, space offers us an opportunity to learn more about basic biological systems with one important variable removed. The thin film bioreactor will facilitate the handling of fluids in microgravity, under constant temperature and will allow multiple samples of cells to be grown with variable conditions. Studies on cell cultures grown in microgravity would enable us to identify and quantify changes in basic biological function in microgravity which are needed to develop new applications of orbital research and future biotechnology.     

BRIEF REPORT OF ACTIVE CONTROLLED AND OBSERVABLE PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZATION FACILITY

There are two tendency of development on space protein crystal growth facility.Increase the number of samples, for commercial purpose, or observe and control the crystallization process, for study of crystallization process.