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Updated: Sep 19, 2025

Predicting In Vivo Payloads Delivery using a Blood-brain Tumor-barrier in a Dish
Published on: April 16, 2019
A new era in brain drug delivery: Integrating multivalency and computational optimisation for blood-brain barrier
Giulia Porro1, Marco Basile1, Zhengdong Xie2
1Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract:
Efficient drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) remains a significant obstacle in treating central nervous system (CNS) disorders. This review provides an in-depth analysis of the structural and molecular mechanisms underlying BBB integrity and its functional properties. We detail the role of key cellular and molecular components that regulate selective molecular transport across the barrier, alongside a description of the current therapeutic approaches for brain drug delivery, including those leveraging receptor-mediated transcytosis. Emphasis is placed on multivalency-based strategies that enhance the specificity of nanoparticle targeting and improve transport efficacy across the BBB. Additionally, we discuss the added value of integrating mathematical and computational models with experimental validation for accelerating BBB-targeted delivery systems optimisation.
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