Demystifying Fogging in Lyophilized Products: Impact of Pharmaceutical Processing.

A commonly encountered challenge with freeze-dried drug products is glass vial fogging. Fogging is characterized by a thin layer of product deposited upon the inner surface of the vial above the lyophilized cake. While considered to be a routine cosmetic defect in many instances, fogging around the shoulder and neck of the vial may potentially impact container closure integrity and reject rates during inspection.

Importance of Kv Distribution in Freeze Drying Part I: A Holistic Model to Predict Changes in Kv Bimodal Distribution as a Function of Pressure.

Measurement of heat transfer coefficients (K) is an important part of freeze-dryers characterization and as well a necessary step for executing any modelling. In most cases only an average value of K is calculated, or an average value of center and edge vials is provided. Our aim is to go a step further and to describe the overall K distribution various vial/ freeze drier combinations, whatever the pressure.

Mission to Psyche: Including Undergraduates and the Public on the Journey to a Metal World.

The NASA Psyche mission's program to engage university undergraduates and the public in the mission is inspired by and built upon the extensive foundation of public engagement, educational outreach activities, and expertise of NASA and mission partner institutions. The program leverages the enthusiasm and contributions of undergraduates nationwide to the benefit of the mission, the students and their institutions and communities, and the broader public. Psyche Student Collaborations consists of four main programs, two (Psyche Capstone and Psyche Inspired) are available solely to undergraduates enrolled at universities or community colleges in the United States and its territories and two (Innovation Toolkit free online courses and Science Outreach Interns and Docents) invite broader participation by engaging the talents and creativity of undergraduate interns to help create content and events to reach the public and lifelong learners.

Succinate Buffer in Biologics Products: Real-world Formulation Considerations, Processing Risks and Mitigation Strategies.

The succinic acid/succinate system has an excellent buffering capacity at acidic pH values (4.5-6.0), promising to be a buffer of choice for biologics having slightly acidic to basic isoelectric points (pI 6 - 9).

Distinguishing the Origin of Asteroid (16) Psyche.

The asteroid (16) Psyche may be the metal-rich remnant of a differentiated planetesimal, or it may be a highly reduced, metal-rich asteroidal material that never differentiated. The NASA Psyche mission aims to determine Psyche's provenance. Here we describe the possible solar system regions of origin for Psyche, prior to its likely implantation into the asteroid belt, the physical and chemical processes that can enrich metal in an asteroid, and possible meteoritic analogs.

Deciphering Redox State for a Metal-Rich World.

The Psyche mission's Oxidation-Reduction Working Group is focused on understanding, determining, and applying the redox state of (16) Psyche to understand the origin of a metal-rich world. The oxidation-reduction state of an asteroid, along with its temperature, parent body size, and composition, is a key parameter in determining the history of an asteroid. Determining the redox state from spacecraft data is most easily done by examining potential metal-oxide buffer pairs.

The Fe/S ratio of pyrrhotite group sulfides in chondrites: An indicator of oxidation and implications for return samples from asteroids Ryugu and Bennu.

Determining compositional trends among individual minerals is key to understanding the thermodynamic conditions under which they formed and altered, and is also essential to maximizing the scientific value of small extraterrestrial samples, including returned samples and meteorites. Here we report the chemical compositions of Fe-sulfides, focusing on the pyrrhotite-group sulfides, which are ubiquitous in chondrites and are sensitive indicators of formation and alteration conditions in the protoplanetary disk and in small Solar System bodies. Our data show that while there are trends with the at.

Near Infrared and Frequency Modulated Spectroscopy as Non-Invasive Methods for Moisture Assessment of Freeze-Dried Biologics.

Near-infrared (NIR) and frequency modulated spectroscopy (FMS) were employed, for non-invasive moisture determination of a lyophilized biologic drug product (DP). Development of NIR and FMS provides a rapid non-invasive means of residual moisture measurement, and would be beneficial compared with traditional time consuming, product destructive methods such as Karl Fischer (KF). A model therapeutic enzyme in a sucrose-based formulation was employed for proof of concept studies, and NIR and FMS methods were compared side by side for residual moisture analysis.

HPV vaccine communication training in healthcare systems: Evaluating a train-the-trainer model.

Background: Large healthcare systems provide an opportunity to disseminate evidence-based interventions to primary care. We evaluated the impact of a train-the-trainer model in two large systems to disseminate the Announcement Approach Training, which teaches providers to communicate about HPV vaccination more effectively.

Methods: In collaboration with the American Cancer Society, we partnered with two midwestern healthcare systems that served over 77,000 patients ages 11 through 17.

Advances in Cosmochemistry Enabled by Antarctic Meteorites.

At present, meteorites collected in Antarctica dominate the total number of the world's known meteorites. We focus here on the scientific advances in cosmochemistry and planetary science that have been enabled by access to, and investigations of, these Antarctic meteorites. A meteorite recovered during one of the earliest field seasons of systematic searches, Elephant Moraine (EET) A79001, was identified as having originated on Mars based on the composition of gases released from shock melt pockets in this rock.

Origin and Age of Metal Veins in Canyon Diablo Graphite Nodules.

Previous studies attributed the origin of metal veins penetrating graphite nodules in the Canyon Diablo IAB main group iron meteorite to condensation from vapor or melting of host metal. Abundances of 16 siderophile elements measured in kamacite within vein and host meteorite are most consistent with an origin by melting of the host metal followed by fractional crystallization of the liquid. The presence of the veins within graphite nodules may be explained by impact, as peak shock temperatures, and thus the most likely areas to undergo metal melting, are at metal-graphite interfaces.

Freezing of Biologicals Revisited: Scale, Stability, Excipients, and Degradation Stresses.

Although many biotech products are successfully stored in the frozen state, there are cases of degradation of biologicals during freeze storage. These examples are discussed in the Perspective to emphasize the fact that stability of frozen biologicals should not be taken for granted. Frozen-state degradation (predominantly, aggregation) has been linked to crystallization of a cryoprotector in many cases.

Genetics, crystallization sequence, and age of the South Byron Trio iron meteorites: New insights to carbonaceous chondrite (CC) type parent bodies.

The nucleosynthetic Mo, Ru, and W isotopic compositions of the South Byron Trio iron meteorite grouplet (SBT) are consistent with all three meteorites originating on a single parent body that formed in the carbonaceous chondrite (CC) isotopic domain within the Solar nebula. Consistent with a common origin, the highly siderophile element (HSE) concentrations of the SBT can be related to one another by moderate degrees of fractional crystallization of a parental melt with initially chondritic relative abundances of HSE, and with initial S and P contents of ~7 and ~1 wt. %, respectively.

Elemental mapping by Dawn reveals exogenic H in Vesta's regolith.

Using Dawn's Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector, we tested models of Vesta's evolution based on studies of howardite, eucrite, and diogenite (HED) meteorites. Global Fe/O and Fe/Si ratios are consistent with HED compositions. Neutron measurements confirm that a thick, diogenitic lower crust is exposed in the Rheasilvia basin, which is consistent with global magmatic differentiation.

Color and albedo heterogeneity of Vesta from Dawn.

Multispectral images (0.44 to 0.98 μm) of asteroid (4) Vesta obtained by the Dawn Framing Cameras reveal global color variations that uncover and help understand the north-south hemispherical dichotomy.

Combining meteorites and missions to explore Mars.

Laboratory studies of meteorites and robotic exploration of Mars reveal scant atmosphere, no evidence of plate tectonics, past evidence for abundant water, and a protracted igneous evolution. Despite indirect hints, direct evidence of a martian origin came with the discovery of trapped atmospheric gases in one meteorite. Since then, the study of martian meteorites and findings from missions have been linked.

Hollows on Mercury: MESSENGER evidence for geologically recent volatile-related activity.

High-resolution images of Mercury's surface from orbit reveal that many bright deposits within impact craters exhibit fresh-appearing, irregular, shallow, rimless depressions. The depressions, or hollows, range from tens of meters to a few kilometers across, and many have high-reflectance interiors and halos. The host rocks, which are associated with crater central peaks, peak rings, floors, and walls, are interpreted to have been excavated from depth by the crater-forming process.

Radioactive elements on Mercury's surface from MESSENGER: implications for the planet's formation and evolution.

The MESSENGER Gamma-Ray Spectrometer measured the average surface abundances of the radioactive elements potassium (K, 1150 ± 220 parts per million), thorium (Th, 220 ± 60 parts per billion), and uranium (U, 90 ± 20 parts per billion) in Mercury's northern hemisphere. The abundance of the moderately volatile element K, relative to Th and U, is inconsistent with physical models for the formation of Mercury requiring extreme heating of the planet or its precursor materials, and supports formation from volatile-containing material comparable to chondritic meteorites. Abundances of K, Th, and U indicate that internal heat production has declined substantially since Mercury's formation, consistent with widespread volcanism shortly after the end of late heavy bombardment 3.

The major-element composition of Mercury's surface from MESSENGER X-ray spectrometry.

X-ray fluorescence spectra obtained by the MESSENGER spacecraft orbiting Mercury indicate that the planet's surface differs in composition from those of other terrestrial planets. Relatively high Mg/Si and low Al/Si and Ca/Si ratios rule out a lunarlike feldspar-rich crust. The sulfur abundance is at least 10 times higher than that of the silicate portion of Earth or the Moon, and this observation, together with a low surface Fe abundance, supports the view that Mercury formed from highly reduced precursor materials, perhaps akin to enstatite chondrite meteorites or anhydrous cometary dust particles.

The evolution of Mercury's crust: a global perspective from MESSENGER.

Mapping the distribution and extent of major terrain types on a planet's surface helps to constrain the origin and evolution of its crust. Together, MESSENGER and Mariner 10 observations of Mercury now provide a near-global look at the planet, revealing lateral and vertical heterogeneities in the color and thus composition of Mercury's crust. Smooth plains cover approximately 40% of the surface, and evidence for the volcanic origin of large expanses of plains suggests that a substantial portion of the crust originated volcanically.

Reflectance and color variations on Mercury: regolith processes and compositional heterogeneity.

Multispectral images of Mercury obtained by the MESSENGER spacecraft reveal that its surface has an overall relatively low reflectance with three large-scale units identified on the basis of reflectance and slope (0.4 to 1.0 micrometer).