An experiment designed by children living in Canada has shown that the anaphylaxis wonder drug EpiPen has the potential to transform into a toxic substance in space. A video of an interview with children who discovered the dangers of the Epipen, which NASA did not even notice, is also available on YouTube.
Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction caused by eating an allergic food or being bitten by an insect. By contacting the antigen, histamine or other mediators are favored in mast cells, and breathing difficulties due to contraction of organs or body fluids leaking from the bloodstream into tissues in a short time sometimes lead to death .
Epipen is an injectable drug used as a special drug for anaphylaxis. Adrenaline contained in the drug blocks the release of the causative substance from mast cells, improving symptoms in a short time. Regarding these epi-pens, children aged 9 to 12 who participated in a program (Program for Gifted Learners) in an elementary school in Canada questioned whether the a-pens would function in space. Therefore, I designed an experiment to investigate changes in molecular structure by flying an epi-pen into outer space, and I applied for the Naga International Project (Cubes in Space) to realize the ideas of scientific experiments designed by children between the ages of 11 and 18.
This project adopted the idea of a children’s experiment and actually launched a cube filled with epipen solution or adrenaline solution into outer space. The adrenaline and epipen solutions were placed in small cubes and transported into space using rockets and hot air balloons before returning to Earth.
The research team at the University of Ottawa, which collaborated with the sample analysis, performed gas chromatographic mass spectrometry on the pure adrenaline solution and the epipen solution contained in the cube before and after flight. As a result of the analysis, the purity of the adrenaline sent into space dropped to 87%, and the remaining 13% became toxic derivatives of benzoic acid. Benzoic acid is known to be harmful to the human body when ingested in high doses. Interaction with the cosmic ray is thought to be responsible for the adrenaline change, and this result calls into question the effect of the epipen in space.
According to this result, the children are working on the design of a capsule that protects the epipen solution in outer space, and in June 2023, they plan to visit the Langley Research Center, a NASA research facility located in Virginia, USA. Relevant information can be found here.
