Controlling ferrofluid permeability across the blood–brain barrier model

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• The blood-brain barrier (BBB) restricts the passage of substances into the brain, posing a challenge for drug delivery and neuroimaging.
• Developing reliable in vitro models is crucial for evaluating the brain-penetrating capabilities of nanomaterials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish and validate an in vitro blood-brain barrier model using murine brain endothelioma cells (b.End3).
• To assess the permeability of five novel ferrofluid (FF) nanoparticle formulations through the developed BBB model.
• To identify FF nanoparticles suitable for either MRI applications or brain drug delivery based on their BBB permeability.

Main Methods:

• Development of an in vitro BBB model using b.End3 cells.
• Validation of the BBB model by measuring FITCDextran permeability.
• Characterization of five FF nanoparticle samples (GGB, GGC, GGP, BPC, CPB) using zeta potential, TEM, and dynamic light scattering.
• Determination of FF nanoparticle permeability across the in vitro BBB model.

Main Results:

• The in vitro BBB model was successfully established and validated.
• Ferrofluid nanoparticles coated with collagen exhibited a 4.5% higher permeability compared to those coated with glycine and glutamic acid.
• Ferrofluid nanoparticle characteristics such as charge and hydrodynamic diameter were determined.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully identified distinct ferrofluid nanoparticle properties influencing BBB permeability.
• Ferrofluid nanoparticles with lower permeability (e.g., GGB) are promising for MRI contrast agents, minimizing neural tissue toxicity.
• Ferrofluid nanoparticles with higher permeability (e.g., CPB) show potential for targeted brain drug delivery systems.