Litegrav is Enabling Organ-on-a-Chip Systems to Advance Space Exploration, Microgravity Simulation

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‍Tallinn, Estonia—March 1st, 2024—Microgravity presents unique challenges, impacting everything from cellular growth to tissue function—insights that could shape medicine’s future in space and on earth. 

Litegrav, a provider of hardware and software to simulate extreme environments, announced an advancement in its Organ-on-a-Chip (OOC) technology. By adding OOC to its platform, the SpaceQuest Ventures portfolio company can now simulate cellular behavior in microgravity conditions.

OOC systems model human physiology and disease with greater speed and precision than traditional cell cultures. By more closely mimicking the complex architectures and functions of different tissue types, OOCs can rapidly deliver insights into cellular behavior under conditions that otherwise cannot be replicated on earth.  

“This platform opens up so many new possibilities,” said Patrik Hollós, CEO of Litegrav. “We’re excited to push the boundaries of space bioscience by giving researchers the tools they need. This could lead to the development of therapies that improve astronaut health on future Mars missions and for people here on earth.”

A team at the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre cultivated cells within Litegrav’s OOC system under continuous flow conditions, closely imitating the dynamics of human bodily processes. The results are promising: cells demonstrated enhanced growth rates compared to those in standard gravity conditions, despite a slight reduction in viability under microgravity.

“Our findings show the platform’s immense potential,” said Hollós continued. “With these experiments we can address physiological challenges faced by astronauts on long-term missions and aid in developing new drugs tailored to space conditions.” 

Litegrav's OOC makes space biology accessible. Launching experiments into space is still prohibitively expensive, which is why better simulations are needed. Degenerative diseases associated with prolonged weightlessness, such as osteoporosis and muscle atrophy, can be studied in new ways to produce novel therapeutics for all.  

By providing a controlled and reproducible platform for studying biological processes in microgravity, the system offers unprecedented opportunities for drug development. The platform’s implications go beyond the International Space Station. Understanding how cells behave in microgravity environments not only benefits space exploration but also offers potential applications for earth-bound health challenges.

About Litegrav 

Litegrav provides scalable hardware and software platforms for simulating microgravity and other extreme biological environments, advancing biotechnology, life sciences, and pharmaceutical research.

‍About the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre

The Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre (BMC) is the leading scientific institute in molecular biology and biomedicine in Latvia. Since its establishment in 1993 it has evolved into a powerful scientific center performing basic as well as applied research in three major directions: molecular medicine; biotechnology and structural biology; molecular ecology and biosystems.