Recent Developments in Microfluidic Technologies for Central Nervous System Targeted Studies

• Type: Another Publication in an International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2020

Authors

Teixeira, MI (Author) Other; Maria Helena Amaral (Author) FFUP; Paulo Costa (Author) FFUP; Lopes, CM (Author) Other; Lamprou, DA (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Pharmaceutics

Vol. 12

Pages: 1-37

ISSN: 1999-4923

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 5 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00S-A41

DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12060542

Abstract (EN): Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) bear a lot of weight in public health. By studying the properties of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and its fundamental interactions with the central nervous system (CNS), it is possible to improve the understanding of the pathological mechanisms behind these disorders and create new and better strategies to improve bioavailability and therapeutic efficiency, such as nanocarriers. Microfluidics is an intersectional field with many applications. Microfluidic systems can be an invaluable tool to accurately simulate the BBB microenvironment, as well as develop, in a reproducible manner, drug delivery systems with well-defined physicochemical characteristics. This review provides an overview of the most recent advances on microfluidic devices for CNS-targeted studies. Firstly, the importance of the BBB will be addressed, and different experimental BBB models will be briefly discussed. Subsequently, microfluidic-integrated BBB models (BBB/brain-on-a-chip) are introduced and the state of the art reviewed, with special emphasis on their use to study NDs. Additionally, the microfluidic preparation of nanocarriers and other compounds for CNS delivery has been covered. The last section focuses on current challenges and future perspectives of microfluidic experimentation.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 37