Colgate-Palmolive said it plans to send the first-ever private sector oral care experiment to the International Space Station (ISS).
The on-board experiment will be under the sponsorship of the ISS U.S. National Laboratory. It is designed to provide more information about the growth and metabolism of oral biofilms that contribute to dental diseases.
To conduct the experiment, the crew will use microfluidic devices developed by faculty from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) College of Engineering and Colgate's microbiologists to simulate bacterial growth on a toothlike surface. This is the first of several research projects in space that Colgate has planned in partnership with the ISS National Lab, according to Colgate.
