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Kennedy Space Center Fixation Tube (KFT)
03.13.09
Scientists and payload developers can get more information on International Space Station research facilities by contacting the ISS Payloads Office or at 281-244-6187.

Overview | Description | Applications | Operations | Results | Publications | Images

Facility/Payload Overview

Brief Facility Summary

The Kennedy Space Center Fixation Tube (KFT) is an apparatus designed to contain plant or other small biological samples during flight and chemically fix and stain the tissue samples while providing three safety-levels of containment.

Facility Manager(s)

  • David R. Cox, Kennedy Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, FL

    • Co-Facility Manager(s)

  • Charles D. Quincy, Kennedy Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, FL

    • Facility Developer

    Kennedy Space Center, Space Life Sciences Lab, Kennedy Space Center, FL

    Sponsoring Agency

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

    Expeditions Assigned

    |4|16|17|19|20|21|22|

    Previous ISS Missions

    The KFT has been utilized by investigations on ISS Increment 4 (PESTO), 16 and 17 (CWRW).

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    Facility/Payload Description

    Facility Summary

    • The Kennedy Space Center Fixation Tube (KFT) is a device for chemical fixation of a biological sample in microgravity.


    • It is small and easy to use, and is well suited to use in the field as well as in the laboratory.


    • Because typical chemical fixatives are extremely hazardous to humans, the device is also designed to contain its fixative solution within a triply-redundantly sealed environment.

    Description

    The Kennedy Space Center Fixation Tube (KFT) is a system designed to contain small biological samples during flight and chemically fix and stain the tissue samples.

    The KFT provides three levels of containment for the chemical fixative during stowage and operations. The KFT is comprised of the following elements: a polycarbonate main tube where fixative is loaded preflight, the sample tube which is used to keep the plant or other specimen in place during operations, the expansion plug, top plug, base plug, and the plunger. The KFT contains approximately 35 ml of fixative solution and provides a usable sample volume of either 25 or 41 ml depending on which of the current two configurations is employed. KFTs have proven to provide very robust containment. The KFT has been demonstrated to maintain its containment at ambient temperatures, +4 degrees C refrigeration, and -99 degrees C freezing.

    The KFT has been shown to be compatible with many fixative reagents. Some of the tested reagents are listed below:

    • 100 percent RNAlater

    • 0.4 percent Formaldehyde (0.4 percent)

    • 5 percent formalin, 5 percent acetic acid, 50 percent ethanol

    • 0.5 percent Glutaraldehyde, 2 percent Paraformaldehyde

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    Operations

    Facility Operations

    In flight, in order to perform fixation of the samples, the KFT system is removed from the zip lock storage bag in which the hardware is stowed. The crew inspects the bag prior to opening to ensure there have been no leaks. After a specimen has been placed into the sample tube, a plunger is removed from the locker and inserted into the main tube to provide three levels of containment between the sample tube and the outside environment. The plunger is locked into place at the top of the tube and can not be removed from the main tube once it is engaged. The fully assembled KFT is actuated by turning the plunger handle several turns to release the internal expansion plug. Fixative is forced through openings located in the bottom of the sample tube. The expansion plug continues to be forced down until it reaches the base plug of the main tube. The specimen is now partially to fully submerged in the fixative solution thus completing the operation. The fired KFT is then replaced in the plastic bag and restowed in a locker or transferred to MELFI or other conditioned stowage as required.

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    Results/More Information

    When conducting biological studies, it is important to maintain the integrity of the samples. The standard method to preserve samples is quick freezing at low temperatures, -80 degrees C (-112 degrees F) and below, but strict temperature control of samples on station is not always uniform or possible. Therefore, a preservation method is needed that will maintain the integrity of biological samples. In conjunction with the KFT, RNAlaterTM was used to preserve some of the PESTO samples on station during Increment 4. Results indicated that the method utilized resulted in a sample which was better preserved for future analysis (Paul et al. 2005).

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    Availability

  • Operated on ISS

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    Related Web Sites
  • KSC Fixation Tube Biocompatibility Study Using Caenorhabditis elegans

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    Publications

    Results Publications

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      Related Publications

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        Images

        imageKSC Fixation Tube. Image courtesy of http://www.lssc.nasa.gov/fs/lsda/.
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        Information Provided and Updated by the ISS Program Scientist's Office
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