Development of compact cell-assay platform for democratizing microgravity cell biology research

Space tourism and travel is coming to reality very soon thanks to the development by SpaceX and Virgin Galactic. It is expected to have more people going up to space. EuniceScope is a compact 2D clinostat system with an in-built brightfield microscope to study the morphological change of biological cells. Physiological effects of microgravity have been proved influential, with degrading effects on bones, skeletal muscles and blood cells; and various stimulating effects on stem cells. It is thus of pivotal importance for investigating space travellers’ health on cellular level. The current ground-based microgravity simulating platforms for biological studies are bulky, lack reconfigurability and continuous monitoring. EuniceScope has advantages of lightweight, compact, a high degree of reconfigurability and democratization, filling the gap of current systems’ limitations. High imaging quality and microgravity simulating performance are achieved. Thus, EuniceScope holds huge potential for further development, including tissue engineering, democratization and application to different fields.