Redwire Corporation, a leader in space infrastructure for the next-generation space economy, announced that it has launched a new drug development technology and a cancer-detection experiment to the International Space Station (ISS) as the company scales its in-space pharmaceutical drug development program based on the success of its PIL-BOX platform.

To complement the existing PIL-BOX platform, Redwire is launching a high-volume Industrial Crystallizer that is capable of processing samples that are up to 200x the volume of what could previously be processed in the original PIL-BOX technology. The goal is to translate the insights gained from the PIL-BOX investigations into large-scale production for commercial applications. This Industrial Crystallizer technology could provide a roadmap to commercializing the fabrication of materials on the ISS for real-world applications on the ground.

To validate this new hardware, Redwire is launching a first-of-its-kind experiment called Golden Balls, which will attempt to produce gold nanospheres in space for the first time. Gold nanoparticles are currently being explored by researchers as a cancer therapeutic due to their unique properties, and they have been used as a biomedical testing tool for early detection of cancer and other diseases.

“Gold nanospheres could lead to early testing and diagnosis of cancer and other diseases, targeted drug delivery, and enhanced radiation and photothermal therapy, offering a promising approach to cancer management,” said John Vellinger, Redwire’s President of In-Space Industries. “Producing golden nanospheres in space is expected to yield both tighter size distributions and larger gold nanospheres without compromising surface structure and ultimately producing spheres of higher quality.”

The Industrial Crystallizer and Golden Balls experiment launched on board SpaceX’s 32nd commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 21st.

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