I asked how good is Triera (Zentek) graphene for drug delivery...
ChatGPT said:
I looked into what’s known about Triera / Zentek and their graphene- / aptamer technologies, plus more general science on graphene (and graphene derivatives) for drug delivery. I’ll summarize what is promising and what remains uncertain. If you like, I can also list published papers or critiques.
What is Triera / Zentek doing. First, to be clear: Triera (a subsidiary of Zentek) is not exactly doing “graphene drug delivery” in the typical nanoparticle + drug sense. Their technology is more about aptamers — short nucleic acid sequences that can bind with high specificity to target molecules (in this case, e.g. SARS-CoV-2). Triera Biosciences+3Finanzwire+3Finanzwire+3
Here are the highlights of what they’ve achieved:
- A universal aptamer (“C19HBA”) with high binding affinity that works both prophylactically and therapeutically against variants of SARS-CoV-2. It has outperformed (or matched) leading monoclonal antibodies in some preclinical tests. Finanzwire+2Graphene Info+2
- Preclinical safety / toxicity testing in mice (intranasal administration) of this aptamer showed a favorable profile: inflammatory cell infiltration and cytokine levels (major markers such as TNF-a, VEGF-A etc.) were not elevated beyond naive controls. Triera Biosciences+1
- They are working on “multivalent aptamer technology” (multiple aptamer units, presumably to increase binding, coverage, etc.) and have received government funding to test this for highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1). Triera Biosciences+2Graphene Info+2
What isn’t clear (from what I saw): exactly how much graphene is involved in their aptamer platform, or in what form; how the graphene is used (e.g. as a scaffold, membrane, functionalization support, etc.), its size, functionalization, and how it is combined with the aptamer. The company is described as a “graphene application developer” among other things. Graphene Info+2Graphene Info+2
What’s known more generally: graphene and its derivatives for drug delivery There is a broader literature on graphene-based materials (graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene quantum dots, etc) as drug delivery platforms. Some of the advantages and challenges from that literature are relevant to assessing the promise and risks of any “graphene-augmented” or “graphene-supported” aptamer/drug delivery system.
Advantages - High surface area: Graphene materials offer very large surface areas for loading of drug molecules, whether via physical adsorption (p-p stacking, hydrophobic interactions), covalent linkage, or encapsulation. MDPI+1
- Versatility of functionalization: Graphene oxide (GO) and related derivatives have functional groups (carboxyl, hydroxyl, epoxide) that allow for chemical modification—attaching targeting ligands, polymers (e.g. PEG), drug molecules, etc. Frontiers+1
- Responsive or controlled release potential: Modified graphene systems can respond to stimuli (pH, temperature, light, etc.), which helps with controlled release of payloads, minimizing off-target effects. Frontiers+1
- Potential multimodal capabilities: Some graphene materials can combine drug delivery with imaging, photothermal therapy, or other therapeutic functions. This is more common in cancer nanomedicine settings. MDPI
Challenges / Risks - Toxicity / biocompatibility: While many studies show acceptable biocompatibility under certain conditions, there are also reports of toxicity depending on dose, particle size, oxidation level, exposure time, route of administration, etc. For example, high or repeated doses of graphene oxide can lead to inflammation, lung (or other organ) accumulation, immune cell activation, etc. RSC Publishing+1
- Clearance / metabolism: It is often unclear how graphene materials are cleared from the body, whether they persist, accumulate in organs, and whether degraded products are safe. Long-term fate is often under-studied. MDPI+1
- Reproducibility, stability: Functionalization (how you modify the graphene surface) and particle-size / shape / aggregation state can greatly affect performance and safety. Ensuring consistency is hard. MDPI
- Scaling, regulatory and manufacturing issues: Producing graphene materials with precisely controlled size, functionalization, purity at scale is nontrivial; regulatory bodies will require thorough safety and toxicology proofs.
How Triera / Zentek’s approach stacks up (based on what's known) Given both the general literature and what’s known so far about Triera’s work, here is how “good” their approach looks and what to watch out for:
Strengths / promising aspects
- They have moved into in vivo/preclinical safety testing and have shown favorable results (in mice) for their aptamer C19HBA. That is a big plus. Triera Biosciences+1
- Their aptamer shows both prophylactic and therapeutic effect vs SARS-CoV-2 variants, outperforming or matching monoclonal antibodies in some tests. That suggests high specificity and potency. Finanzwire+1
- The multivalent aptamer platform (if well-designed) could offer enhanced binding, possibly increased affinity or breadth of target coverage (e.g. multiple virus strains) which is useful.
- The fact that they are progressing toward more diverse infectious agents (e.g. influenza) suggests some robustness of the platform.
Uncertainties / what needs more data
- It’s not clear how large the graphene component is, whether it’s in nanoparticle form, whether it's GO / reduced GO or pristine graphene, or how it is functionalized. These details matter a lot for safety, payload capacity, delivery route, clearance, and immune reaction.
- Although mice safety is promising, translation to humans often reveals issues (immune reactions, off-target effects, biodistribution, accumulation). More long-term animal studies will be needed.
- Delivery route (intranasal, systemic, etc.), dosing schedule, and how the aptamer is delivered / stabilized (aptamers are nucleic acids and may be degraded by nucleases) are critical; ensuring stability without high toxicity or immunogenicity is challenging.
- Manufacturing scale and batch consistency — ensuring that each batch has the same binding affinity, stability, purity, graphene-related variables etc.
My verdict (so far) Triera / Zentek’s aptamer platform looks promising, especially in terms of specificity, preclinical efficacy, and initial safety profile. I would say their approach is “good to very good” in the early preclinical stage. It has advantages over many early graphene-based drug delivery systems because there is real in vivo data already, and they’ve shown both prophylactic and therapeutic potential.
But: it is still quite early. The “graphene” aspect seems more like part of the platform (or perhaps supporting materials), rather than a fully developed graphene drug-delivery vehicle in the sense found in academic nanomedicine papers. The biggest unknowns remain around long-term safety, human translation, scale, regulatory pathway, and detailed mechanisms of clearance / immunogenicity. |
