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Zentek and McMaster University Announce New Aptamer Technology Platform
GUELPH, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 27, 2023 / Zentek Ltd. (" Zentek " or the " Company ") (NASDAQ:...
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[{"type":"text","content":"Zentek and McMaster University Announce New Aptamer Technology PlatformGUELPH, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 27, 2023 / Zentek Ltd. (\"Zentek\" or the \"Company\") (NASDAQ:ZTEK)(TSXV:ZEN), a technology development and commercialization company and McMaster University (McMaster) are proud to announce that Dr. Yingfu Li and his team at the Li Lab have developed a novel aptamer technology that increases the binding affinity of aptamers by up to 250 times. The increased binding affinity enhances the limits of detection for aptamer-based diagnostics. In addition, the enhanced binding affinity may lead to the successful adaptation of these same aptamers for new therapeutic and prophylactic treatments. Binding affinity is a key metric in both diagnostic and therapeutic applications.This technology platform was first successfully tested in vitro and in vivo against the SARS-CoV-2 virus as reported in the July 20th, 2023, news release. The technology was further tested against previously published aptamers with known binding affinity for human biomarkers including Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Troponin, as well as the influenza virus. These published aptamers were synthesized both in their original state and using the McMaster technology. Afterwards, their binding affinity was measured using both a dot blot assay and biolayer interferometry (BLI). In each case, the aptamers synthesized with the technology demonstrated a significant increase in binding affinity, from 30 to 250 times compared to the original aptamers.These results demonstrate the potential broad use of this aptamer technology platform to enhance most existing and future aptamers.Dr. Yingfu Li stated: \"The novel aptamer technology platform developed in my lab at McMaster University is demonstrating a robust increase in binding affinity to every aptamer we have tried so far. Combining this technology with aptamers that have high specificity has created a very exciting potential for new therapeutics and diagnostics. The enhanced binding affinity from these new aptamers has led to consistent and successful in vitro testing in my lab and the lab of Dr. Leyla Soleymani for diagnostic applications, and more recently, with in vivo testing in the lab of Dr. Matthew Miller for therapeutic applications. These early results are very exciting, and we look forward to future work that...