STABILITY OF PHARMACOTHERAPEUTIC (STABILITY-PHARMACOTHERAPEUTIC)
Research Area: Crew Healthcare Systems
Expeditions: 13- 18
Principal Investigator(s): ● Lakshmi Putcha, PhD, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Stability of Pharmacotherapeutic studies the effects of radiation in space on complex organic
molecules such as vitamins and commonly-used medicines. This helps researchers develop
more stable and reliable pharmaceutical countermeasures suitable for future long-duration
missions beyond low-Earth orbit.
EARTH BENEFITS
The results of this investigation help to understand the effects of adverse environments on
medicines, and assists Earth-based explorers in making healthy choices for long-term
exploration of remote and adverse habitats like the Antarctic, Arctic, and the world oceans.
SPACE BENEFITS
Results of this investigation provide important
information on the susceptibility of select
pharmaceuticals to adverse environmental
factors encountered during space missions.RESULTS
The Stability-Pharmacotherapeutic investigation
studied the effects of radiation in space on
medicine at varying time intervals. Thirty-five
medications were examined in this experiment.
The study found that 6 medications stowed for
the longest duration of 28 months aboard the ISS
showed physical alterations as compared with
only 2 medications stowed on the ground for the
same length of time. Also, 9 medications stowed for 28 months aboard the ISS met United
States Pharmacopeia (USP) potency standards versus 17 medications stowed for the same
length of time on the ground. Several formulations had lower potency, in general, after storage
in space, and a larger amount of formulations failed USP potency requirements after each
storage period interval in space than on Earth. The potency degradation rate was found to be
faster for several medications in space than on Earth; this was the particular case for light-
sensitive medications and may be the result of exposure to higher amounts of radiation aboard
the spacecraft than on the ground. Repackaging of solid dosage forms from the original
commercial containers into the custom-manufactured containers used to store medications in
the space medical kits may also have had an influence on the stability of the medications. These
findings will contribute to the future development of space resilient medications and medicine
packaging technology (Du 2011).
Scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center
(JSC) in Houston, Texas, analyzing the Stability-
Pharmacotherapeutic samples returned on STS-- NASA’s Johnson Space Center image.