[Biocatalysis using immobilized cells or enzymes as a method of water and air purification in habitable enclosed environment]. / Biokataliz na osnove immunobilizovannykh kletok ili fermentov kak odin iz podkhodov k ochistke vody i atmosfery v obitaemom germoob"ekte.

This paper shows that the method of water and air purification using immobilized cells and enzymes can be applied in regenerative life support systems in a habitable enclosed environment. This method is based on selective and adaptive functions of enzymic systems of microorganisms to assimilate organic components of the medium to be eliminated. Advantages of biocatalysis are low energy requirements and mild temperatures of purification leading to practically complete elimination of the substrate. Due to immobilization, cells and enzymes constitute an independent component which can be added to any continuously operating system of purification without generating a specific interface which is crucially important in microgravity. This allows the process of purification to be controllable. The resulting water and air meet biological requirements because they are formed under the influence of living organisms as in natural biogeocenoses. The production of ecologically pure water and air is highly important for long-duration space missions, especially for flights to Mars.

[Effectiveness of urine-preserving agents used in water reclamation systems]. / Issledovanie éffektivnosti konservantov mochi primenitel'no k regenerativnym sistemam vodoobespecheniia.

The antimicrobial activity of 11 chemicals of different classes was investigated having in view their potential use as urine conserving agents onboard space flying vehicles. The investigations were performed on 8 bacterial cultures, including spore-forming, urease-active bacteria and microorganisms that typically occur in the spacecraft environment. Out of the chemical tested, five haloid-containing agents, primarily oxidative agents, showed the largest spectrum of antimicrobial action and highest bactericidal effect. These agents are recommended to be used as urine conserving agents in water reclamation systems during space flights.

[Comparative evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of urine preservatives]. / Sravnitel'naia otsenka antimikrobnoi aktivnost' nekotorykh konservantov mochi.

New antiseptics were examined for their antimicrobial activity with respect to the microorganisms that are most likely to occur in the urine subject to prolonged storage. Chlorine- and iodine-containing compounds were found to have the highest antimicrobial activity combined with a wide spectrum of antimicrobial action. The antimicrobial effect of these compounds was mostly expressed in regard to the typical representatives of urobacteria that actively hydrolyze urea to yield ammonia during prolonged storage of urine.