Photochemistry on the Space Station—Antibody Resistance to Space Conditions after Exposure Outside the International Space Station

Abstract

Antibody-based analytical instruments are under development to detect signatures of life on planetary bodies. Antibodies are molecular recognition reagents able to detect their target at sub-nanomolar concentrations, with high affinity and specificity. Studying antibody binding performances under space conditions is mandatory to convince space agencies of the adequacy of this promising tool for planetary exploration.Please note that this is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available on the publisher Web site.experiment. We conclude that antibody-based instruments are well suited for in situ analysis on planetary bodies.

Photochemistry on the Space Station—Aptamer Resistance to Space Conditions: Particles Exposure from Irradiation Facilities and Real Exposure Outside the International Space Station

“…Furthermore, in the frame of the BiOMAS project (Biochip for Organic Matter Analysis in Space) and part of the Photochemistry on the Space Station (PSS) experiment, biochip models, in which antibodies were immobilized onto a surface, have been installed outside the International Space Station (ISS) on the EXPOSE-R2 platform, for a real long-term exposure (more than 18 months) to spatial constraints (Vigier et al, 2013;Cottin et al 2015, Cottin et al 2017. Our recent results show that our biochip models resist to an 18 months extra-vehicular mission (Coussot et al, 2018b). This work, in combination with the ground-based radiation studies, permits to assess the antibodies' ability to bind to their respective antigens even after a longterm exposure to the real space environment.…”

In situ organic biosignature detection techniques for space applications

“…The samples stored outside the ISS were exposed to 220 mGy. It was shown that both immobilized and free antibodies retained at least 40% of the binding efficiency after being exposed to freeze-drying, long-term storage, temperature fluctuations, and radiation (Coussot et al, 2019a). Similar experiments with aptamers showed that at least 50% retained their functionality after the entire study (Coussot et al, 2019b).…”

“…Although ground-based radiation testing is valuable, it does not capture the reality of varying radiation fluxes, energies, and types during long-term storage and thermal variations. Two studies evaluated affinity sensors (i.e., antibodies and aptamers) that were stored for 566 days outside of the ISS (Vigier et al, 2013;Coussot et al, 2019a;Coussot et al, 2019b). Extensive validation and functionality testing were performed with a previously developed methodology (Coussot et al, 2018a;Coussot et al, 2018b;Coussot et al, 2018c).…”

Life Detection and Microbial Biomarker Profiling with Signs of Life Detector-Life Detector Chip During a Mars Drilling Simulation Campaign in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert

“…We have proposed the use of molecular recognition, particularly antigen-antibody interaction, as the analytical method for detecting organic molecules and life in planetary exploration (Parro et al , 2005a , 2008 , 2011a; Moreno-Paz et al , 2018 ). In fact, antibodies are robust enough to withstand long-term storage, temperature cycles, and radiation exposure equivalent to missions to Mars (de Diego-Castilla et al , 2011 ; Derveni et al , 2012 ; Coussot et al , 2019 ).…”

“…To date, several studies have validated the use of bio-affinity sensing components such as antibody-antigen microarrays to search for evidence of life (Derveni et al , 2012 ; Carr et al ., 2013 ; Baqué et al ., 2017 ; Coussot et al ., 2019 ) even after the target compounds and the sensing components (antibodies) have been exposed to levels of gamma radiation higher than expected during a mission to Mars (de Diego-Castilla et al ., 2011 ; Blanco et al ., 2018 ). In addition, experiments outside the International Space Station have demonstrated that antibodies remain viable after exposure to a dose of ionizing radiation equivalent to the absorbed dose expected during a Mars mission (Coussot et al ., 2019 ).…”