Versarien PLC SARS-CoV-2 Inhibition by Graphene / Metal Oxides (6457F)
November 18 2020 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMVRS
RNS Number : 6457F
Versarien PLC
18 November 2020
18 November 2020
Versarien plc
("Versarien" or the "Company")
SARS-CoV-2 Inhibition by Hybrid Graphene Nanoplatelet/Metal
Oxide Powders
Versarien Plc (AIM: VRS), the advanced materials engineering
group, is pleased to announce the receipt of an independent report
(the "Report") produced by Ankara University, Turkey, detailing the
results of a preliminary study of modified graphene materials
provided by Versarien for use against SARS-CoV-2, the strain of
coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19. The
Report concludes that the preliminary test results show that these
materials significantly inhibit viral infection and possess
anti-viral activity towards SARS-CoV-2.
The study was undertaken to test, in a laboratory environment,
the hypothesis that graphene nanoplatelets doped with metal oxide
nanoparticles, as produced by the Versarien group, can inactivate
the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
Two graphene nanoplatelet batches doped with different metal
oxide nanoparticles, "GNA-22" and "GNA-24" were provided by
Versarien to a team led by Dr Acelya Yilmazer Aktuna at Ankara
University. These doped materials were produced using technology
from Gnanomat, the Company's subsidiary, and were then separately
dispersed in a phosphate buffer solution by Ankara University and
provided to an external Biosafety Level 3 laboratory for testing.
The testing was carried out in-line with a protocol defined by
Pezzoti et al., bioRxiv, 20 June 2020, in "Rapid Inactivation of
SARS-CoV-2 by Silicon Nitride, Copper, and Aluminum Nitride", a
copy of which can be
found at: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.19.159970
In order to determine the antiviral effect of the materials
provided, the level of inhibition of viral infection was assessed.
Testing was carried out on VeroE6 cells containing SARS-CoV-2 and
viral copy numbers were analysed in real time to demonstrate the
level of SARS-CoV-2 inhibition of the aqueous suspensions of GNA-22
and GNA-24, compared to control samples not exposed to these
modified graphene materials.
Initial results showed a log 4 reduction of SARS-CoV-2 using GNA
22 (approximately 99.99% inhibition) and a log 2 reduction using
GNA 24 (approximately 99% inhibition). These results were
statistically highly significant with a p-value of less than
0.0001.
The Report concludes that the results show that GNA22 and GNA24
significantly inhibited viral infection and suggests that these
materials possess antiviral activity towards SARS-CoV-2.
Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien, commented: "While we must
stress that these results have been achieved under laboratory
conditions, they do demonstrate that our hybrid graphene
nanomaterials have the potential to provide protection from
COVID-19. The results provide us with sufficient levels of
confidence for our combined Gnanomat and 2-DTech teams to move to
rapid testing of these materials in real-world applications as
diverse as face masks, clothing and surface treatments, together
with investigating the protection that they can provide from other
viruses and bacteria.
"I would like to thank Dr Yilmazer Aktuna and her team at Ankara
University for the work they have undertaken. We will continue to
work with them on further projects to investigate the anti-viral
properties of our materials and their applications."
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED TO
CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE
MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE
IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Enquiries:
Versarien
Neill Ricketts, CEO
Chris Leigh, CFO +44 (0)1242 269 122
SP Angel Corporate Finance (Nominated
Adviser and Joint Broker)
Matthew Johnson, Adam Cowl +44 (0)20 3470 0470
Berenberg (Joint Broker)
Mark Whitmore, Simon Cardron +44 (0)20 3207 7800
Yellow Jersey (Investor Relations)
Charles Goodwin
Georgia Colkin
Henry Wilkinson
Versarien@yellowjerseypr.com +44 (0)774 778 8221
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