Limitations in predicting radiation-induced pharmaceutical instability during long-duration spaceflight

Abstract

As human spaceflight seeks to expand beyond low-Earth orbit, NASA and its international partners face numerous challenges related to ensuring the safety of their astronauts, including the need to provide a safe and effective pharmacy for long-duration spaceflight. Historical missions have relied upon frequent resupply of onboard pharmaceuticals; as a result, there has been little study into the effects of long-term exposure of pharmaceuticals to the space environment. Of particular concern are the long-term effects of space radiation on drug stability, especially as missions venture away from the protective proximity of the Earth. Here we highlight the risk of space radiation to pharmaceuticals during exploration spaceflight, identifying the limitations of current understanding. We further seek to identify ways in which these limitations could be addressed through dedicated research efforts aimed toward the rapid development of an effective pharmacy for future spaceflight endeavors.

Environmentally Robust Memristor Enabled by Lead‐Free Double Perovskite for High‐Performance Information Storage

“…However, for CsPbBr 3 ‐ and CH 3 NH 3 PbBr 3 ‐based devices, neither ON nor OFF state could be maintained after 60 Co radiation. (Figure S14, Supporting Information) This radiation proof of Cs 2 AgBiBr 6 is even better than conventional flash memory techniques (bearable dosage: 10 5 rad) and is an attractive candidate for aerospace and nuclear environments, where irradiation‐immune nonvolatile data storage or high‐speed recording is required …”

Physicochemical Stability of Space Medicines

“…This results in the densely ionizing core, the path of charged particles, and track generated by ejected electrons. The particles with more charge have the greater ability to ionize the exposed material (Blue et al 2019b).…”

“…The activity of free radicals also varies with changes in the radiation dose-rate. Many pharmaceuticals have shown their stability at higher dose-rates because of higher oxygen consumption leading reduced oxygen radicals to cause damage (Blue et al 2019b;Kempner 2001Kempner , 2011.…”

“…The alteration of radiation exposure dose and dose rate can produce different effect than anticipated from radiosterilization. Hence, the effect of space radiation on physicochemical stability cannot be predicted from the data obtained from radiosterilization (Blue et al 2019b).…”

“…But, due to vast distance from the Earth, there will be no possibility to resupply the medicines or emergency return of the crew during long duration space missions beyond LEO. A study of monitoring use of pharmaceuticals by spaceflight crewmembers during their 5-6 months in ISS showed that an average of 453 medicines were used per crewmember during their space missions, which means about four medicines were consumed per crewmember per week (Blue et al 2019a). Prolonged exposure to harsh space environmental conditions will exacerbate the conditions even more.…”