Recent Advances in Multicellular Spheroid Models for Multiparametric Blood-Brain Barrier Detection in Microfluidic Systems

Abstract

Microfluidics has emerged as a valuable technology for modeling the blood brain barrier (BBB) to study the physiological or pathological conditions and play an important role in neuroscience and pharmaceutical research. Here we discuss the recent advances and the potential application of microfluidic-based systems, because these models, unlike 2D, transwell and organ-on-chip, accurately mimic the physiological characteristics of the BBB. The review provide also outlooks on the integration of chemical sensor for evaluating BBB models through electrochemical sensors, chemical sensors using MIPs and metabolomic detection, in terms of internal and secreted metabolites. This integration is useful to gain new insights for improving the cerebral vascular interventional therapy and discovering new diagnostic tools for clinical practice. Finally, the challenges and future prospects for advancing microfluidic-based BBB systems in neuroscience research are discussed and proposed, particularly regarding new opportunities in multi-disciplinary fundamental research and therapeutic applications for a broader range of disease treatments.