ESA's Biopan 1--"Vitamin" experiment preliminary results

The purpose of "Vitamin" experiment is to study the efficiency of protective substances on three biological acellular systems aqueous solutions exposed to cosmic radiation in space. The first system "LDL" is a low density lipoprotein. The second is "E2-TeBG complexe" in which estradiol (E2) is bound to its plasmatic carrier protein, testosterone-estradiol binding globulin (TeBG). The third is "pBR 322", a plasmid. "Vitamin" experiment was accommodated in the Biopan which had been mounted on the outer surface of a Foton retrievable satellite. The experiment was exposed to space environment during 15 days. A stable temperature of about 2O degrees C was maintained throughout the flight. "Vitamin" experiment preliminary results are presented and discussed.