To find an effective medicine against the Chagas disease, it is necessary to find a composite substance that blocks the enzymes which allow the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite to survive. To find this composite substance it is necessary to determine, as exactly as possible, the structure of some enzymes. This can be done thanks to the crystallization process, and the submitting of the studied object to an X-ray analysis. For all this, it is of great importance to develop crystals of the greater quality.

The crystals developed on earth, generally present irregularities due to the gravity force. However, the crystals developed in the space are formed slowly, with less flaws, generating crystals of high quality, useful to study with a great level of detail a group of enzymes, which could be helpful to find an effective medicine for this disease.

The crystallization process in the space, for the study of this research group, is accomplished thanks to the support of the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and of the University of Alabama, by means of the CBSE (Center of Biophysical Sciences and Engineering).

More Information:

• The ChagaSpace Project
      • The Crystallization Process
• Participating Institutions
• General Proposal
• Specific Proposals
• Implementation Plan
• Last Reports