In vitro blood brain barrier models: An overview

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biotechnology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is critical for central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis.
• Understanding BBB function is key to developing novel CNS drug delivery strategies.
• Existing in vitro BBB models have limitations in accurately simulating physiological conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate advanced in vitro blood-brain barrier (BBB) models.
• To provide an overview of essential components, fabrication methods, and cell culturing techniques for in vitro BBB models.
• To discuss the applications and recent advances in BBB-on-Chip technology for drug permeability studies.

Main Methods:

• Review and evaluation of various in vitro BBB models.
• Analysis of chip fabrication and cell culturing methodologies.
• Assessment of BBB-on-Chip technology for drug permeability testing.

Main Results:

• In vitro BBB models, particularly microfluidics-based BBB-on-Chip, offer realistic simulations for studying BBB function.
• These models facilitate the elucidation of CNS disorder mechanisms and pathogenic factors.
• Advanced models improve the testing of drug permeability and pharmacokinetic properties.

Conclusions:

• In vitro BBB models are essential tools for advancing CNS drug development.
• BBB-on-Chip technology represents a significant step towards realistic BBB simulation.
• Further development of these models will enhance the design of CNS treatments with improved BBB penetrability.