Lab-on-a-Chip Platforms as Tools for Drug Screening in Neuropathologies Associated with Blood-Brain Barrier...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) and organ-on-a-chip (OOC) devices offer miniaturized platforms for complex biological functions.
• Advancements in LOC/OOC manufacturing facilitate biomedical applications, though limitations persist.
• Mimicking organ and tissue functions on-chip is a rapidly developing research area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the latest developments in brain-on-a-chip, blood-brain barrier (BBB)-on-a-chip, and neurovascular unit (NVU)-on-a-chip technologies.
• To highlight the utility of these chip-based models for high-throughput pharmacological screening.
• To analyze their contributions to understanding neurodegenerative diseases and advancing personalized medicine.

Main Methods:

• Focus on literature review of brain-on-a-chip, BBB-on-a-chip, and NVU-on-a-chip studies.
• Analysis of device capabilities for microfluidics, advanced recordings, and screening.
• Evaluation of applications in neurodegenerative disease research and personalized medicine.

Main Results:

• LOC/OOC devices provide powerful tools for mimicking human physiology at the microscale.
• Brain-on-a-chip, BBB-on-a-chip, and NVU-on-a-chip models show significant promise for drug discovery.
• These models are increasingly relevant for studying complex neurological disorders and tailoring treatments.

Conclusions:

• Organ-on-a-chip technologies, especially neuro-focused models, are revolutionizing pharmacological screening.
• These advanced in vitro models accelerate research into neurodegenerative diseases.
• The application of these chips is pivotal for the future of translational and personalized medicine.