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The outer surface of each dendrimer is covered in naphthalene disulfonate groups, similar to the heparan sulfate proteoglycans found on host cell membranes, molecules to which many viruses stick to.

The company says that a clinical safety study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, showed that the dendrimer in Viraleze was not absorbed in the body and caused no significant side effects.

Jackie Fairley, Starpharma’s CEO, says that the company’s dendrimer could prove useful in future pandemics.

Starpharma already has products on the market that employ a dendrimer called SPL7013 as an external barrier against viruses and bacteria.

Don Tomalia, director of the National Dendrimer Nanotechnology Center in Mt Pleasant, Michigan, who invented dendrimers in 1979, says, "It's a mystery as to why these dendrimers intrinsically target inflamed microglia and astrocytes, but it's brilliant that this happens."