In vitro blood-brain barrier models for drug research: state-of-the-art and new perspectives on reconstituting these models on artificial basement membrane platforms

In vitro blood-brain barrier (BBB) models are indispensable screening tools for obtaining early information about the brain-penetrating behaviour of promising drug candidates. Until now, in vitro BBB models have focused on investigating the interplay among cellular components of neurovascular units and the effect of fluidic sheer stress in sustaining normal BBB phenotype and functions. However, an area that has received less recognition is the role of the noncellular basement membrane (BM) in modulating BBB physiology. This review describes the state-of-the-art on in vitro BBB models relevant in drug discovery research and highlights their strengths, weaknesses and the utility potential of some of these models in testing the permeability of nanocarriers as vectors for delivering therapeutics to the brain. Importantly, our review also introduces a new concept of engineering artificial BM platforms for reconstituting BBB models in vitro.