Laboratory outreach: Student assessment of flow cytometer fluidics in zerogravity

Due to the the clinical utility of the flow cytometer, the National Aeronau tics and Space Administration (NASA) is interested in the design of a space flight-compatible cytometer for use on long-duration space missions. Becau se fluid behavior is altered dramatically during space flight, it was deeme d necessary to validate the principles of hydrodynamic focusing and laminar flow (cytometer fluidics) in a true microgravity environment. An experimen t to validate these properties was conducted by 12 students from Sweetwater High School (Sweetwater, TX) participating in the NASA Reduced Gravity Stu dent Flight Opportunity, Class of 2000. This program allows high school stu dents to gain scientific experience by conducting an experiment on the NASA KC-135 zero gravity laboratory aircraft. The KC-135 creates actual zero-gr avity conditions in 30-second intervals by flying a highly inclined parabol ic flight path. The experiment was designed by their mentor in the program, the Johnson Space Center's flow cytometrist Brian Crucian, PhD, MT(ASCP). The students performed the experiment, with the mentor, onboard the NASA ze ro-gravity research aircraft in April 2000.